A man who was piloting a drone who collided with a fire aircraft working in the Palisades fire agreed to declare himself guilty of a minor crime, pay a fine and complete community service, federal fiscal prosecutors said on Friday.
Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, of Culver City, was accused of insecure operation of an unmanned plane. He could still face up to a year in a federal prison, prosecutors said.
The drone, which the authorities say that it was flying in the restricted airspace on January 9, placed a hole in the size of a fist in the wing of a super scooper, a massive -winged plane that can fall large amounts of water on a fire. The collision removed the plane for about five days and destroyed the drone.
As part of the guilt declaration agreement, Akemann agreed to pay a total restitution to the Quebec government, Canada, which supplied the plane and the company that repaired the plane. It costs at least $ 65,169 to repair the plane, prosecutors said.
Akemann also agreed to complete 150 hours of community service in support of the fire relief effort of the fires of southern California 2025.
A Super Scooper drops water on a hillside while the Palisades fire is enraged on January 7.
(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)
“This defendant imprudently flew an airplane plane where the first to respond risk their lives in an attempt to protect lives and properties,” acting to Us Atty. Joseph T. McNally said in a press release.
The Palisades fire driven by the wind broke out for days in Pacific Palisades and the surrounding communities, burning 23,400 acres, killing 12 people and destroying more than 6,800 properties, according to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection of California.
Temporary flight restrictions were implemented through parts of southern California as the fire storms crossed the Los Angeles County. These restrictions mean that all aircraft that are not involved in forest fire suppression operations have to obtain permission to enter the airspace. The authorities said no permission had been given at the time the drone collided with the plane.
The drones that flew in the fire zone were a persistent problem since firefighters fought against Palisades fire. The aerial images of the devastation caused by the fire became viral on social networks, but were often criticized by officials and others who said that the drones that captured the images were endangering fire fighting.
“This is not just harmless fun. This is incredibly dangerous, “said Chris Thomas, public information officer of the Palisades fire, to The Times this month after the Super Scooper was beaten.” Seriously, what if that plane had dropped? Could have taken a row a row of houses.
The collision, and breach of the flight restriction by others, led to the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a severe warning against flying drones near forest fires.
“It is a federal crime, punishable with up to 12 months in prison, interfere with fire efforts in public lands,” said FAA. “In addition, FAA can impose a civil sanction of up to $ 75,000 against any drones pilot who interferes with the response operations to the emergency law or response” during a temporary flight restriction.
Drones that fly in forest fire areas have been a problem for FAA officials and firefighters for at least a decade.
In 2019, the United States forest service reported that there were at least 20 unauthorized drones flights about or near forest fires in seven states, including California. According to the forest service, the flights resulted in the air extinction operations to temporarily turn off nine times that year, according to the forest service.
“This damage caused to the Super Scooper is a marked reminder that flying drones in times of emergency raises an extreme threat to personnel that tries to help people and compromises the general capacity of the police and the fire to perform operations,” said McNally . “As this case demonstrates, we will track drone operators that violate the law and interfere with the critical work of our first to respond.”
The Office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives of the United States has spent weeks investigating the cause of Palisades fire. From the beginning, an 8 -acrec fire has been speculated that firefighters thought they had presented on January 1 in the same area revived and extended due to intense winds, or a new fire somehow triggered itself near that morning.
But the sources said that this week a conclusion had not been made and that it was still a possibility that the fire was triggered on January 7.
Terry Terry Castleman and Grace Toohey personnel contributed to this report
