A California man pleaded guilty to federal charges this week in connection with a drone that crashed into a firefighting aircraft in California earlier this month.
Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, pled guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft for “recklessly operating a drone that crashed into and damaged a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft fighting the Palisades Fire earlier this month,” the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.
“As a result of the drone collision, the firefighting aircraft was taken out of service for a period of time and was not able to continue its firefighting mission,” prosecutors said in a statement. “As part of the plea agreement, Akemann agreed to pay full restitution to the Government of Quebec, which supplied the plane, and an aircraft repair company that repaired the plane. Akemann also agreed to complete 150 hours of community…
