When Los Angeles wildfires raged earlier this year, every minute counted. But one tech mogul’s reckless curiosity with a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone grounded a vital firefighting plane mid-mission, and now he’s paying the price.
Expand Expanding Close
It was a reckless decision with serious consequences. Peter Tripp Akemann, a 56-year-old Los Angeles resident, has pleaded guilty to crashing his drone into a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft battling the Palisades Fire last month. According to the US Attorney’s Office, the former president of Skydance Interactive entered his plea to a federal class-A misdemeanor count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. This misdemeanor carries a potential one-year federal prison sentence. Akemann’s sentencing has been set for June 2.
Expand Expanding Close
The FBI has intensified its investigation into the collision between a DJI Mini drone and a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft as Los Angeles continues to battle devastating wildfires. The collision, which left a significant hole in the left wing of the firefighting plane, occurred amid ongoing emergency operations at the Palisades Fire near Malibu, California. Officials warn that unauthorized drones in wildfire zones are endangering critical firefighting efforts.
Expand Expanding Close
The FBI has unveiled photos of a DJI Mini drone responsible for damaging a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft during the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. The drone collision, which occurred in restricted airspace, caused a 3×6-inch hole in the plane’s left wing, forcing it to land for repairs and delaying firefighting operations by up to 30 minutes.
Expand Expanding Close
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it has begun testing drone detection, tracking, and identification technology around Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
Expand Expanding Close
Drone footage captured last Sunday shows the effect the COVID-19 coronavirus is having on one of Los Angeles‘ biggest problems: traffic. The footage captures an almost empty 110 freeway compared to what would normally be heavy traffic at 9:30 a.m. on a Sunday.
An AIR7 HD helicopter was struck by an object, believed to be a drone, at 1,100 feet over downtown Los Angeles Wednesday night. The chopper had to make a precautionary landing.
At around 7:15 p.m., as the helicopter was flying over the downtown LA area, pilot and reporter Chris Cristi said that he and the crew heard and felt a bang as an object hit the tail of the chopper. ABC7 Eyewitness News reports the incident as the helicopter being struck by a drone, even though that has yet to be proven. The initial photos show significant damage to the AIR7 HD helicopter.
Update: it seems that ABC7 Eyewitness News has changed the title of their news story to: “AIR7 HD struck by suspected drone over downtown LA, makes precautionary landing.”
Update 2: NBC News reports: “Two FAA inspectors examined the helicopter this morning, the FAA said, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) requested that affected parts of the helicopter be removed and sent for analysis. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.”