Treyarch co-founder pleads guilty to grounding firefighting plane with drone during LA wildfires

rockpapershotgun.com:

Peter Akemann - co-founder of Call Of Duty's Treyarch and recent president of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners studio Skydance Interactive - has pleaded guilty to crashing a drone into a firefighting plane assisting with the recent LA wildfires. The crash, which grounded the plane by damaging its left wing, occurred after Akemann ignored temporary drone restrictions in order to survey the Palisades fires before losing control. Thanks, Eurogamer. For first noticing the case, I mean. I'm not blaming Eurogamer for the drone crash. Not this one, anyway.

The drone was traced back to Akemann, who has agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. That's a misdemeanour that usually carries up to one year prison time, but he's "hoping to escape the prison term in exchange for 150 hours of community service in support of wildfire relief and the approximately $65,000 USD it cost to repair the plane," write Eurogamer, as part of a plea agreement.

“This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally in a statement. “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. As this case demonstrates, we will track down drone operators who violate the law and interfere with the critical work of our first responders.”

Here's how the statement describes the incident:

Akemann flew the drone at least 2,500 meters (more than 1.5 miles) toward the fire and lost sight of the drone. As Akemann was flying the drone, it collided with a Government of Quebec Super Scooper carrying two crewmembers attempting to fight the blaze. The impact caused an approximately 3-inch-by-6-inch hole in the left wing. After landing, maintenance