Man pleads guilty in drone crash with Quebec water bomber fighting L.A. fires

A 56-year-old Californian man has pleaded guilty to operating the drone that crashed into a Quebec water bomber plane fighting the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles earlier this month. 

Peter Tripp Akemann, who is from Culver City, appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom Friday, where United States federal prosecutors charged him with one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. 

The misdemeanor offence carries a prison sentence of up to one year in federal prison.

The CL-415 plane was grounded after the small remote-controlled aircraft flew into it on Jan. 9, leaving a "sizable hole in its wing," Christopher Thomas, a spokesperson with the California state firefighting agency, Cal Fire, said at the time. 

"Fortunately, they landed the plane without incident," Thomas said.

The incident downed all aircraft fighting the fire for nearly half an hour that day while officials made sure the skies were clear, he said.

"This makes me very angry. It is extremely irresponsible and people could have been killed," he said. 

In court Friday, Akemann pleaded guilty in a plea agreement, which also saw him agree to pay full restitution to the Quebec government and the company that repaired the plane. The total costs are estimated at $65,169 US.

Akemann will also have to complete 150 hours of community service in support of the Southern California wildfire relief effort. 

"Lack of common sense and ignorance of your duty as a drone pilot will not shield you from criminal charges," said Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office.

According to a news release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Akemann was flying the drone to observe damage caused by the Palisades Fire, although it's unclear what his motivation to do so was. 

Akemann had driven to the top floor of a parking garage on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, where he launched the drone and flew it about two and a half kilometres toward Pacific Palisades. 

He lost sight of the drone and it collided with the Quebec CL-415 plane carrying two crew members working to fight the fire. The impact caused a hole in the left wing measuring about seven centimetres by 14 centimetres.