--- description: Drone manufacturer DJI will disable all of its devices within a 15.5-mile radius of downtown Washington D.C. title: Drone Maker Disables Flights Over Washington After White House Crash image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcdf59496c57ba8b/69877c4806f2c123f7333a45/461828332.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Drone Maker Disables Flights Over Washington DC After White House Crash ## Video: Obama: 'We Need More Drone Regulation' [Watch (HLS stream): Obama: 'We Need More Drone Regulation'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mFsOmj6e.m3u8) (0:55)  _Published 2015-01-27. Obama: 'We Need More Drone Regulation'_  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 2:29 PM CUT  Staff from aerial imaging company DJI, demonstrate a remote control aircraft during a press conference by the Small UAV Coalition January 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. Staff from aerial imaging company DJI, demonstrate a remote control aircraft during a press conference by the Small UAV Coalition January 20, 2015 in Washington, DC.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 28, 2015 2:29 PM CUT Drone manufacturer DJI will disable all of its devices within a 15.5-mile radius of downtown Washington D.C., following the crash landing of one its drones in the White House compound on Monday. The company said it would release what it called a mandatory update for its drone operating system in the coming days. The update would automatically disable drone flights over Washington D.C. and fence off no-fly zones around than 10,000 airports across the country. However, owners of most DJI drones won’t be forced to download the update — those who choose not to install it would just miss out on new features down the road. “We are pushing this out a bit earlier to lead in encouraging responsible flight,” said DJI spokesperson Michael Perry. “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.” A Secret Service officer “[heard and observed](http://time.com/3682307/white-house-drone-crash/ "undefined")” a drone believed to be a DJI Phantom flying at a low altitude early Monday morning, before it crashed on the southeast side of the White House. The pilot, a government employee, had reportedly been [drinking](http://time.com/3684517/drone-white-house-drunk/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3685668/drone-dji-phantom-washington-white-house/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3685668/drone-dji-phantom-washington-white-house/"},"headline":"Drone Maker Disables Flights Over Washington DC After White House Crash","datePublished":"2015-01-28T14:29:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:04:15.599Z","description":"DJI will disable all of its devices within a 15.5-mile radius of the capital's downtown area","url":"https://time.com/3685668/drone-dji-phantom-washington-white-house/","keywords":["Tech","Security","Drones","Drone","FAA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcdf59496c57ba8b/69877c4806f2c123f7333a45/461828332.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcdf59496c57ba8b/69877c4806f2c123f7333a45/461828332.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-TECHNOLOGY-DRONE","caption":"US-TECHNOLOGY-DRONE","creditText":"Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3685668/drone-dji-phantom-washington-white-house/","name":"Drone Maker Disables Flights Over Washington DC After White House Crash"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Obama: 'We Need More Drone Regulation'","description":"Obama: 'We Need More Drone Regulation'","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mFsOmj6e/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-27T14:59:49.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mFsOmj6e.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3685668/drone-dji-phantom-washington-white-house/","duration":"PT55S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3685668/drone-dji-phantom-washington-white-house/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```