Drone Pilot To Plead Guilty In Collision That Grounded Aircraft Fighting Palisades Fire (latimes.com) 17
Earlier this month, a civilian drone collided with a Canadian CL-415 firefighting plane combating the Palisades Fire, causing damage that grounded the aircraft and temporarily halted all aerial firefighting operations. Federal and state officials have since identified the operator of that drone as Peter Tripp Akemann of Culver City, who has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor, pay a fine and complete community service. Prosecutors said he could still face up to a year in federal prison. The Los Angeles Times reports: The drone, which authorities say was flying in restricted airspace on Jan. 9, put a fist-sized hole in the left wing of a Super Scooper -- a massive fixed-wing plane that can drop large amounts of water onto a fire. The collision knocked the plane out of commission for about five days and destroyed the drone.
"Like a lot of individuals, he was curious about what was happening in that area," acting U.S. Atty. Joseph T. McNally said on Friday. "The problem with that... is with the amount of firefighting planes you have in that area dropping so they can get water in the Pacific Ocean it interferes with those operations. It's not the time to fly drones anytime that we have these emergencies in Southern California."
As part of the plea agreement, Akemann agreed to pay full restitution to the government of Quebec, Canada, which supplied the plane, and the company that repaired the plane. It cost at least $65,169 to fix the aircraft, prosecutors said. Akemann also agreed to complete 150 hours of community service in support of wildfire relief efforts.
"Like a lot of individuals, he was curious about what was happening in that area," acting U.S. Atty. Joseph T. McNally said on Friday. "The problem with that... is with the amount of firefighting planes you have in that area dropping so they can get water in the Pacific Ocean it interferes with those operations. It's not the time to fly drones anytime that we have these emergencies in Southern California."
As part of the plea agreement, Akemann agreed to pay full restitution to the government of Quebec, Canada, which supplied the plane, and the company that repaired the plane. It cost at least $65,169 to fix the aircraft, prosecutors said. Akemann also agreed to complete 150 hours of community service in support of wildfire relief efforts.
OMG! (Score:1)
he was curious about what was happening in that area
Just go on TikTok and find the local news like every other normal person does!
Re:OMG! (Score:5, Funny)
If everyone did that there would be no tiktok videos.
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So there are two upsides!
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How the fuck do you think those TikTok videos are made?
Better than the alternative (Score:2)
Akemann also agreed to complete 150 hours of community service in support of wildfire relief efforts.
At least he'll be working outside rather than sitting a classroom for all those hours listening to someone ... what's the word for it - go? ... on-and-on about things. :-)
Not just any drone operator... (Score:3)
Not just ANY drone operator: Game developer (Dr.) Peter Akemann
https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming... [pcgamer.com]
https://www.sfgate.com/califor... [sfgate.com]
https://www.hollywoodreporter.... [hollywoodreporter.com]
Maybe he was practicing for the next Call of Duty
In any case: I expect he can afford the $65,169 to fix the aircraft.
Was he live-streaming? (Score:1)
"According to the plea agreement, while the wildfire was burning in and around Pacific Palisades on January 9, Akemann drove to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and parked his vehicle on the top floor of the parking structure. He then launched a drone and flew it towards Pacific Palisades to observe damage caused by the Palisades Fire.
Akemann flew the drone at least 2,500 meters (more than 1.5 miles) toward the fire and lost sight of the drone. As Akemann was flying the drone, it collided with a G
Drone operator reportedly founder of game company. (Score:1)
"As firefighters struggled to contain the devastating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles in early January, someone wanted a bird's eye view, and ended up hitting a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft with their remote-controlled drone. That person has now been identified as Peter Akemann—and both SF Gate and The Hollywood Reporter have identified him as the same Peter Akemann who co-founded Treyarch, the game developer best known as the every-other-year Call of Duty studio (or every few years, these days).
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So he wasn't just some fucking bumpkin; he should have known better.
What I really want to know: (Score:1)
What the hell was this drone made of that it could put a "fist-sized" hole in a jet wing at what I assume was a comparatively slow, low-altitude cruising-speed collision.
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Super scoopers are designed to get to and from fires pretty fast. They cruise at 180 knots.
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The skin of large aircraft is horrifyingly thin. There's a cross section of an airliner fuselage that you can check out in the Boeing factory tour in Mukilteo (near Seattle). While the leading edge of the wings would be reinforced against something like a bird strike a metal framed drone would be another matter entirely.
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The plane in question was not a jet, it's a two-engine turboprop.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
The skin of the wings is not designed to take impacts.
STUPID acting USAtty (Score:1)
> acting U.S. Atty. Joseph T. McNally said on Friday. "The problem with that... is with the amount of firefighting planes you have in that area dropping so they can get water in the Pacific Ocean it interferes with those operations. It's not the time to fly drones anytime that we have these emergencies in Southern California."
Nothing about "Don't fly in a TFR" or "Don't fly in restricted space", just a pussy "I'ts not the time to fly..." message.
Get this "acting" bozo gone and put someone who can talk th
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OH THAT WILL DISCOURAGE EVERYONE ELSE including media and facebook and tiktok influencers FROM EVER TRYING THAT AGAIN.
Anyone with property lost after the loss of the air fire support can attempt to sue Mr. Akemann for their loss (and while some individuals may, insurance companies love to sue anyone, so I expect a few to do so). Some of the litigation may succeed, and put Mr. Akemann in long term servitude to pay for his contributions to their losses.