Man pleads guilty to drone strike on firefighting airplane

The man responsible for a drone strike against one of the Canadian super scoopers fighting the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles had pleaded guilty.

Federal agents tracked down fifty-six-year-old Peter Tripp Akemann for irresponsibly flying his drone into an active firefight. Ackermann knocked out one of only two super scoopers fighting the blaze. On loan from Canada, the drone-sized hole Ackermann put into the aircraft wing will cost him an estimated $65,000 to repair. Fines and jail time are to be determined by a judge.

Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft, according to the Justice Department. Prosecutors filed an indictment charging Akemann with the misdemeanor offense that carries a prison sentence of up to one year in federal prison, a news release said.

According to officials, the plane collided with a privately-owned drone, causing significant damage to it. The drone put a football-sized hole hole in the aircraft.

It managed to safely land, but the Super Scooper was left out of commission for several days while the fire burned. It was only one of two Super Scoopers available.

ABC7

Previously:
After that drone strike on a firefighting airplane DJI decides to remove geo-fencing for no fly-zones
Big-ass flying boats full of water save LA from fiery doom!