2 men arrested after parachuting from Carnegie Mellon building, landing in parking lot in front of guard

Two people are facing charges after Pittsburgh police say they parachuted off a building under construction on the Carnegie Mellon University campus. 

Police say a security guard was sitting in the parking lot on South Neville Street just after 9:30 p.m. on Thursday night when he heard a parachute above him. He told police he watched two men parachute into the parking lot right in front of him.

He says it's not clear where they BASE jumped from, but believes they jumped from either the new Richard King Mellon building, which is being built across the street, or a crane on that construction site.

Police say they found Bader Abulaban and Jason Stanicar in a truck trying to leave the parking lot. When questioned, both men said they were there to visit a friend. 

They were both arrested on felony trespass and conspiracy charges.

At least one of the suspects has a history of BASE jumping from places he shouldn't in western Pennsylvania. Back in 2022, Abulaban was cited by state police for trespassing after he BASE jumped off a windmill in Somerset County. He pleaded guilty and was fined $875.