Pittsburgh police are investigating after a “reported parachutist” jumped off a skyscraper near the former site of the Civic Arena.
Just three weeks after a Beaver County social-media influencer scaled the Gulf Tower — once Pennsylvania’s tallest building — someone appeared to launch themselves off the FNB Financial Center, a 26-story skyscraper standing near the border of Downtown Pittsburgh.
Police said officers responded around 7 a.m. to the 600 block of Washington Place in the city’s Hill District. A report came in for “a suspicious person who was seen parachuting off a building.”
Witnesses at the scene told authorities they saw the parachutist in question run away from the site after landing, Eliza Durham, a police spokeswoman, said.
No arrests have been made.
Detectives are reviewing security camera footage of the incident, Durham said. An investigation is ongoing.
Police last month arrested the Beaver County man who recorded himself atop the Gulf Tower, and his accused accomplice, after the alleged trespasser returned the day after his climb to retrieve a hoodie.
Austin Gene Seik, 27, of Frankfort Springs and Mariah Lynn Barnes, 33, of Munhall were charged Feb. 28 with felony counts of criminal trespass.
Both were released on nonmonetary bond and have preliminary hearings in April, court records show.
In a criminal complaint police said Seik is known for unlawfully entering buildings and structures to create social-media content.
A spokeswoman for FNB Corp. — the holding company for First National Bank, Pennsylvania’s second-largest bank operation — did not return phone calls or an email Friday seeking comment about the morning parachuting incident.
FNB spent $300 million to build its eponymous, new headquarters, which the organization officially opened Feb. 18, 2025, the company said online.
The newest addition to Pittsburgh’s skyline is one of the few multi-tenant towers built in or near the city’s central business district during the past 40 years, FNB Corp. says.
The building is also pretty tall.
The lower Hill’s sole skyscraper, No. 16 in the rankings for Pittsburgh’s tallest, is 6 feet shorter than One PNC Plaza, according to online lists about urban design. But it’s got 8 feet on No. 17, the Regional Enterprise Tower — better known as the former Alcoa Building.
