Call of Duty studio co-founder pleads guilty to crashing drone into firefighting aircraft
Peter Tripp Akemann avoids jail, will pay 'Super Scooper' repair costs and is ordered to help with LA's wildfire recovery
A Culver City, California resident has admitted to crashing his drone into a 'Super Scooper' firefighting aircraft battling the Los Angeles wildfires. His guilty plea spares him up to a year in prison, according to the Department of Justice.
Peter Tripp Akemann pleaded guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft, a misdemeanor crime that carries a maximum penalty of a year behind bars. In exchange for pleading guilty, Akemann has been ordered to complete 150 hours of community service in support of wildfire relief, and pay full restitution to the Government of Quebec and the aircraft repair company for the damage caused.
On January 9, a DJI drone piloted by Peter Tripp Akemann collided with a CL-415 Super Scooper, creating a 3-by-6-inch hole in its left wing and grounding the aircraft until repairs were completed. The CL-415 can carry up to 1,600 gallons of water and is considered to be one of the most effective wildfire-fighting tools. Canada's government has been sending two of the craft to California annually during wildfire season to help the state battle blazes.
"This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property," Acting US Attorney Joseph McNally said. "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."
According to the Department of Justice, repairs to the craft cost "at least" $65,169 - not to mention the lost flight time that could have helped slow the spread of the fires. Akemann's run-in with the aircraft occurred over the area damaged by the Palisades fire, which as of last week was finally fully contained.
Akemann reportedly launched his drone from a parking structure near the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica on the day of the incident with the intent to observe damage caused by the Palisades fire. In the process, he allowed the drone to fly more than 1.5 miles away from him, losing sight of it before it collided with a firefighting aircraft.
The airspace where Akemann was flying his drone was under FAA flight restriction at the time. While he accepted responsibility for the collision, Akemann's attorneys tried to lay some of the blame at the feet of drone maker DJI for not properly geofencing the area to prevent the flight.
"There are a number of mitigating factors that will come to light during the court proceedings including Mr. Akemann's reliance on the DJI Drone's geo fencing safeguard feature and the failure of that feature," Akemann's lawyers told The Hollywood Reporter.
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The fateful flight occurred days before DJI announced it was scaling back geofencing restrictions in favor of simply notifying drone pilots that they were operating in restricted airspace.
FBI Los Angeles assistant director Akil Davis described the act as a "lack of common sense and ignorance of [his] duty as a drone pilot." But it turns out, Akemann isn't some random drone hobbyist. Not only is he one of the founders of game developer Treyarch, which was acquired by Activision and became one of the studios behind the Call of Duty franchise, but he's also the president of Skydance Interactive, a Skydance Media subsidiary that develops VR apps and video games for the media giant. Oh - and Akemann also holds a PhD in mathematics from UC Berkeley.
Whether or not DJI's geofencing restrictions were functioning properly, deciding to fly a drone during a wildfire perhaps isn't a smart move.
"Please respect the law, respect the FAA's rules and respect our firefighters and the residents they are protecting by keeping your drone at home during wildfires," Davis said. ®