Man who accidentally crashed a drone into a firefighting aircraft has been fined and fined more than 20 million yen
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A 57-year-old man has been fined and sentenced to several days in jail for crashing a drone into a firefighting aircraft during a wildfire in Los Angeles.
Central District of California | Culver City Man Agrees to Plead Guilty to Recklessly Crashing Drone into Super Scooper Firefighting Aircraft During Palisades Fire | United States Department of Justice
https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/culver-city-man-agrees-plead-guilty-recklessly-crashing-drone-super-scooper
LA Man Sentenced to 14 Days in Prison for Accidentally Crashing Drone Into Firefighting Plane
https://gizmodo.com/la-man-sentenced-to-14-days-in-prison-for-accidentally-crashing-drone-into-firefighting-plane-2000659687
Peter Tripp Akeman, of Culver City, California, pleaded guilty to crashing a drone into a Bombardier CL-415 firefighting aircraft, known as a 'Super Scooper,' in February 2025.
When a forest fire broke out in January of the same year, the defendant was flying a drone to keep watch over the area around a friend's house, but after flying it for a while, he lost communication with the drone.
The drone collided with a Super Scooper that was fighting the fire, creating a hole approximately 3' x 6' in its left wing and rendering it unable to fly. The Super Scooper was repeatedly pumping approximately 12,000 gallons of seawater and dropping it from the air over the fire at the time. At the time of the collision, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued a temporary flight restriction prohibiting drones from flying in the vicinity.
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At the time, video footage of the Super Scooper flying at the scene was captured.
#Canadian CL-415 Super Scoopers at work in Los Angeles, helping battle the horrendous #LosAngelesWildfires
— Binks (@BinkyBaxter1) January 9, 2025
The Quebec-based aircraft can scoop up 1600 gallons of water in 12 seconds. pic.twitter.com/SXcafJonL6
The defendant was charged with failing to operate a drone safely, which could have resulted in up to one year in prison. However, he was sentenced to 14 days in federal prison and one month of home detention. He also has to pay approximately $156,000 in restitution and fines. Repairs to the drone are estimated to cost $65,169.
The defendant reportedly said, 'It was only when I heard on the news that a drone had collided with an aircraft that I thought my drone might be involved.'
The Los Angeles fires have burned more than 23,000 acres, killed 12 people, and destroyed approximately 7,000 structures.
by CAL FIRE_Official
Akeman is also required to perform 150 hours of community service as a contribution to wildfire recovery efforts.
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