A Culver City man pleaded guilty Feb. 12 to recklessly operating a drone during the Palisades Fire last month and crashing it into a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles announced.
Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, agreed at the end of January to plead guilty after federal prosecutors charged him with a misdemeanor. He faces up to one year in prison.
Prosecutors say the wildfire was burning in an around Pacific Palisades on Jan. 9 when Akemann drove to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and parked his vehicle on the top floor of the parking structure. From there, Akemann launched the drone and flew it toward Pacific Palisades to observe the damage.
Akemann flew the drone more than 1.5 miles toward the fire and lost sight of it, prosecutors said. The drone collided with the government of Quebec’s Super Scooper, which was carrying two crewmembers.
The crew were unaware of the drone strike until they landed at Van Nuys airport.
The impact left a 3-by 6-inch hole in the left wing, taking the aircraft out of service, prosecutors said, adding that repairing the plane cost nearly $66,000.
“This damage caused to the Super Scooper is a stark reminder that flying drones during times of emergency poses an extreme threat to personnel trying to help people and compromises the overall ability of police and fire to conduct operations,” McNally said.
Akemann agreed to pay full restitution to the government of Quebec and the repair company, according to prosecutors. He also will complete 150 hours of community service “in support of the 2025 Southern California wildfire relief effort,” they said in the statement.
Two Super Scooper aircraft arrived from Canada on Jan. 8 to help battle the blaze, which started the previous day. The planes were especially valuable as they scooped up ocean water and dropped it on the flames.
The Federal Aviation Administration had issued temporary flight restrictions that prohibited drone operations near the fire.
“Lack of common sense and ignorance of your duty as a drone pilot will not shield you from criminal charges,” said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
