The California business executive who piloted the drone that collided with a firebomber battling the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year has been sentenced to prison, home confinement, and more than $150,000 in fines and restitution.
Peter Tripp Akemann, a resident of L.A. suburb Culver City, pled guilty back in January to one count of unsafe operation of an uncrewed aircraft. He was at the controls of the DJI Mini 3 Pro drone that, on January 9, was struck by a Canadair CL-415 “Super Scooper” water bomber sent from Canada to assist in fighting the conflagration that threatened the city. Akemann launched the drone from the roof of a parking structure and flew it more than 1.5 miles toward the fires until he lost sight of it.
The ensuing collision punched a six-inch-wide hole in the leading edge of the fire bomber’s left wing and caused internal structural damage. While StandardAero’s aerostructures team at its Van Nuys Airport facility repaired the twin-engine amphibious aircraft, it was out of the fight for at least three days.
Akemann was sentenced to 14 days in federal prison, followed by 30 days of home detention. In addition to repaying the Government of Quebec for aircraft repairs, he must also complete 150 hours of community service in support of local wildlife relief efforts resulting from the fires.