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On January 9th, a Canadian water bomber fighting the Los Angeles-area fires was damaged when it collided with a private drone. Such drone flights in wildfire areas are strictly prohibited. The water bomber was out of service for a few days while the wing was repaired. Officials vowed to track down the owner of said drone.
And they did!
In addition to the water bomber being taken out of service, all air operations were suspended temporarily.
Today, the owner plead guilty to charges related to the incident, mainly operating the drone in a restricted air space. He'll probably have to pay for repairs to the airplane, to the tune of some $65,000, and probably have a suspended sentence.
And the inevitable question: why the hell was he doing this? He wanted to see what was happening. As if the news crews were not reporting on it?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/03/peter-akemann-drone-hit-firefighting-airplane/78176281007/
And they did!
In addition to the water bomber being taken out of service, all air operations were suspended temporarily.
Today, the owner plead guilty to charges related to the incident, mainly operating the drone in a restricted air space. He'll probably have to pay for repairs to the airplane, to the tune of some $65,000, and probably have a suspended sentence.
And the inevitable question: why the hell was he doing this? He wanted to see what was happening. As if the news crews were not reporting on it?
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/03/peter-akemann-drone-hit-firefighting-airplane/78176281007/
