LOS ANGELES (AP) — The pilot of a drone that crashed into a firefighting plane, leaving a gaping hole and grounding the aircraft during the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, has agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of unsafely operating a drone, federal authorities said Friday.
Peter Tripp Akemann will avoid prison with the plea agreement that states he will have to complete 150 hours of wildfire-related community service and pay $65,000 in restitution for the damage to the plane, said acting U.S. attorney Joseph McNally. The misdemeanor count Akemann faced could have resulted in a year in prison. He appeared in court Friday and will remain out of jail under court supervision during his case. Authorities say Akemann launched the drone from the top of a parking structure in Santa Monica on Jan. 9 and flew it more than 1.5 miles toward the Palisades Fire before losing sight of it. It then crashed with the Super Scooper that was carrying two firefighters. The planes can scoop 1,500 gallons (6,000 liters) of water in just seconds.
The wind-driven blaze in the upscale Pacific Palisades began Jan. 7, destroying or damaging nearly 8,000 homes, businesses and other structures and killing at least 12 people. Drone operations were prohibited in the area at the time due to the firefight. The conflagration was fueled by dry Santa Ana winds and has scorched at least 36 square miles (94 square kilometers) of land. It was 98% contained as of Friday.
In a statement handed out to press, defense attorney Glen Jonas said Akemann was “deeply sorry for the mistake he made" and “accepts responsibility for his grave error in judgment.”
Federal authorities emphasized Friday it was the responsibility of drone owners to know the rules, and there would be consequences for breaking them, especially as Los Angeles gears up to host several major events in coming years, including the World Cup, the Super Bowl and the Olympics.
“The FAA has very strict guidelines about registering drones and where drones can be flown. The onus is on the pilot, if firefighters are putting out a fire with aircraft that should be a clue,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.
The Super Scooper, which was owned by the government of Quebec, was grounded for several days. The pilot was able to land the aircraft despite a hole in the left wing caused by the collision with the drone.
Davis said there was no evidence Akemann intentionally caused the collision.
“Lack of common sense and ignorance of your duty as a drone pilot will not shield you from criminal charges,” he said.
The fire in the hilly Los Angeles neighborhood, home to Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost houses in the fire, forced thousands of people from their homes, and knocked out power to tens of thousands.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the fire. Officials have placed the origin of blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely wooded arroyo.
Another wind-whipped fire that started the same day in Altadena, a community about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of Pacific Palisades, killed at least 17 people and destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 homes and other buildings.
The Santa Ana winds have turned seasonal wildfires into infernos that have leveled neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles, where there has been no significant rainfall in more than eight months.
Several Altadena residents who lost homes in the Eaton Fire told the AP they received no notifications about their neighborhoods. For others, the first warning was an urgent text message in the middle of the night.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County officials approved an outside review of how alerts functioned in the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire in response to residents’ demands. City officials declined to answer The Associated Press’ questions about a lag in some Palisades Fire alerts, though Fire Capt. Branden Silverman said responding to a fire and determining evacuation needs can take some time.
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Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.
Jaimie Ding And Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press
