Four arrested over One World Trade Centre base jump video posted on YouTube

The accused skydiving enthusiasts turned themselves in after police searched their homes

One World Trade Center is seen between nearby buildings in Lower Manhattan (AFP/Getty Images)

Four men have been arrested in New York over a parachute jump off the One World Trade Centre tower which was filmed and uploaded to YouTube.

Three were accused of jumping from the 541m (1,776ft) tower, which overlooks the Ground Zero site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A fourth was accused of being their accomplice on street level.

Video footage showed three extreme thrill-seekers assembled at the top of the tower with helmet cameras and parachutes. One after the other they then jump off the edge, gliding down to the almost-deserted roads below and making their escape on foot.

Police say the incident, which occurred at 3am on 30 September last year, involved those jumping putting their own lives and the lives of others in danger.

The four men arrested turned themselves in at a New York police station after officers searched their homes last month. They have been identified as avid Base jumping enthusiast Andrew Rossig, 33, former One World Trade Centre development contractor James Brady, 32, skydiving instructor Marko Markovich, 27, and their alleged accomplice Kyle Hartwell, 29.

The video posted to YouTube appeared to show three men jumping off the One World Trade Center tower with parachutes (YouTube)

“It was very exhilarating,” Mr Rossig said on Monday, as he and co-defendant Mr Brady were on their way to surrender to police.

“It's a fair amount of freefall time,” he added. “You really get to enjoy the view of the city and see it from a different perspective.”

It wasn't immediately clear how investigators tracked down the four who stand accused, as those in the video footage wore masks while filming the jump at night and posted it online anonymously.

They now face serious charges of felony burglary, accused of breaking into the heavily guarded building in order to commit a further crime – since 2008, it has been illegal to base jump from any New York building taller than 50 feet (15m).