Says His Friend Should Not Be Held Responsible For 'The Whole Fiasco'

So you let your inebriated friend fly your quadcopter at 0300 near the White House and it winds up in pieces on the White House Grounds ... sparking a major secret service search, a lockdown of the residence, and renewed calls for regulation of UAV flights from no less than the President himself.

It's mostly the manufacturer's fault ... right?

That's what the owner of the UAV ... made by Chinese-based DJI ... told ABC news.

Neither the pilot or the owner has been identified, but apparently a condition called "flyaway" is fairly common with the type of UAV that was involved in the accident, according to ABC News. "It just goes rogue," the owner said. "It goes where it wants."

The company's message boards are reportedly flooded with posts about "flyaway." "It's an amazing product flaw," one poster writes.

But another message says the condition is more likely caused by pilot error and "environmental interference" such as microwave or cell tower RF in an area where the aircraft is being flown.

The owner of the UAV said the incident was not the fault of the friend who was flying the aircraft, who now reportedly is facing criminal charges in the case. They describe a situation where the friend, alone early Monday morning, launched the aircraft and "it just shot up so high that he couldn't see it any more."

The charges may stem from local laws that prohibit UAV flights in Washington, D.C., as well as federal rules the ban such flights near the White House. But law enforcement officials do concede that the operator had no "malicious intent" for the flight.

DJI said last year at a forum that such "flyaway" incidents can be prevented by closely following the instructions included with its aircraft.

(Secret Service Photo)

FMI: www.fbi.gov