Small drones near the White House and Capitol: A short recent history

An example of a quadcopter drone, the type that breached White House grounds Monday. (AP)

Monday’s early-morning breach of White House grounds by a small drone isn’t the first time one of the devices has violated the highly restricted airspace near the White House and Capitol. Here’s a quick recent history:

July 3: A Secret Service patrol detained an individual who was flying a small quadcopter drone in President’s Park, about one block from the White House grounds, according to an incident report filed with the Federal Aviation Administration. The camera-equipped drone was flying about 100 feet in the air near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and 15th Street NW. The FAA report noted that the drone was confiscated by the Secret Service but did not identify the pilot or elaborate on whether charges were filed.

July 7: A person was questioned by the U.S. Park Police for flying a small quadcopter drone in the vicinity of the Lincoln Memorial, according to an FAA incident report that gave no other details.

Aug. 19: D.C. police arrested an unidentified man after they found him stuck in a tree in Freedom Plaza, just east of the White House at the intersection of 14th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue. According to an FAA report, the man had climbed up the tree to fetch a small drone that he had been flying when it got caught in the branches.

Aug. 29: The U.S. Capitol Police reported detaining an individual for flying a small drone on the Capitol grounds, according to an FAA incident report that gave no further details.

A three-mile area around the White House, called the P56 zone, is a permanent no-fly zone.

Security teams are investigating a “device,” which Reuters and the Associated Press say could be a drone, that was found on the grounds on the White House. (Video: Reuters)