Remember the drone that hit a plane fighting the Palisades Fire in LA?
The FBI released this photo of the damaged aircraft. (FBI)
A video game industry veteran is headed to prison after his drone collided with a firefighting aircraft during the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles. Peter Akemann, 57, admitted to flying the drone in a restricted area in January, resulting in damage to a Canadian “Super Scooper” plane and hindering efforts to control the blaze.
Akemann, co-founder of Treyarch (known for the Call of Duty franchise) and former president of Skydance Interactive, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to pay restitution and perform 150 hours of community service.
On Monday, a federal judge sentenced him to 14 days in prison and 30 days of home detention, according to SFGate.
In a letter to the court, Akemann expressed deep remorse, calling his actions “stupid and reckless.” He said he flew the drone out of concern for a friend’s nearby home but lost control of it. The crash grounded the firefighting aircraft for several days, during a critical time in battling the fire.
He has been ordered to pay $146,000 in restitution—$81,000 to the Los Angeles County Fire Department and $64,000 to Quebec’s government, which had loaned the aircraft to assist with firefighting.
His attorneys pushed for probation, arguing the incident was a “moment of sheer stupidity,” not motivated by malicious intent or personal gain.
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