Treyarch co-founder Peter Akemann has pleaded guilty to piloting a drone that crashed into a firefighting plane during the Los Angeles wildfires last month, causing the aircraft to be grounded from action.
Akemann, who co-founded the studio behind Black Ops 6 in 1996 and then went on to become president of Skydance Studios, lost track of his drone on Jan. 9 while assessing the fire that was ravaging through the Pacific Palisades after flying it more than a mile and a half away from it’s starting point.
The drone collided with the wing of a Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper, which had joined the firefighting efforts in LA, inflicting damage that resulted in the aircraft getting grounded for days and unable to rejoin the relief efforts.
The FAA had already placed temporary flight restrictions banning drones from operating near areas where wildfires were raging. Akemann pleaded guilty to the charges, which will require him to cover the costs of repairs—estimated to be at least $65,000—and complete 150 hours of community service to help Southern California wildfire relief efforts.
In a statement accepting the charges, Akemann’s defense attorneys said he is “deeply sorry” for the incident, but “there are a number of mitigating factors that will come to light during the court proceedings,” including the “DJI Drone’s geo-fencing safeguard feature,” which they claimed to have failed.
As reported by The Verge, DJI eliminated its most restrictive forms of geofencing, which may have previously prevented drones from flying over restricted areas automatically. However, they add that these would not have applied to a temporary no-fly zone unless the updated temporary flight restrictions list was downloaded first.
The U.S. District Court may still refuse to accept the plea agreement, which could result in Akemann facing a larger fine or a year in prison. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Akemann left his position as president of Skydance Studios before the incident occurred.
