Makers of Drone that Crashed at White House to Enforce No-Fly Zone in DC

U.S. Secret Service(NEW YORK) — DJI, the maker of the drone that crashed on the White House lawn earlier this week, announced on Wednesday that it will enforce a no-fly zone on downtown Washington, D.C for its products.

Once the drones are updated in the next few days, they will not be able to take off from or fly into the nation’s capital or a 15-mile radius around it, according to a news release from the company. GPS technology in the drones will be able to identify the no-fly zone, warn the operator and then stop at the no-fly zone’s border.

According to DJI spokesperson Michael Perry, if a drone enters the no-fly zone, the craft’s GPS receiver gets pinged by a satellite and it will automatically land. To maneuver the drone out of the restricted area, the pilot can move it forwards and backwards and side-to-side, but not have it gain any altitude.

DJI’s update is to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s restriction of unmanned flight around the D.C. area.

“With the unmanned aerial systems community growing on a daily basis, we feel it is important to provide pilots additional tools to help them fly safely and responsibly,” Perry said in a statement. “We will continue cooperating with regulators and lawmakers to ensure the skies stay safe and open for innovation.”

DJI is an international company based in Shenzhen, China — the city considered the Silicon Valley of China — that specializes in making “easy-to-fly” camera drones.

The drone that landed on the grounds of the White House was not considered a threat, and President Obama was away from Washington at the time of the incident, but the situation once again raised questions about presidential security.

In a move that might land him on FAA’s “naughty list,” a government employee was drinking when he lost control of the drone.

The Secret Service is still conducting further investigation into the White House security scare.

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