UAV - Landet på plenen til Det Hvite Hus

The quadcopter that crashed on the White House grounds early Monday. (Courtesy of United States Secret Service)

By Carol D. Leonnig, Katie Zezima and Craig Whitlock January 26 at 4:44 PM    

A man believed to be a recreational drone operator accidentally crashed a small device onto the White House grounds early Monday, investigators said, briefly triggering a lockdown and reinforcing concerns about security at the executive mansion.

The man later called the Secret Service and explained that he never intended for his two-foot-wide “quadcopter” to breach White House security, the investigators said. They said the agency was working to corroborate his account.

The Secret Service said the drone operator contacted the agency voluntarily at 9:30 a.m. Monday, more than six hours after the device crashed, and was being cooperative. It did not immediately identify the person.

According to a U.S. official cited by the Associated Press, the man is a D.C. resident, and investigators currently do not have any reason to doubt his story.

The crash caused a lockdown at the compound until the device was recovered and examined, the Secret Service said.