Tech executive jailed for drone crash into firefighter plane during LA wildfires
Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, received a 14-day prison term, plus home detention and community service, for operating a drone that damaged a Los Angeles firefighting aircraft amid the Palisades Fire; restitution totaled $146,000.
A Los Angeles tech executive was sentenced Monday to two weeks in federal prison after a drone he operated collided with a firefighting aircraft as crews battled the Palisades Fire in January. Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, admitted the act was stupid and reckless and said his curiosity, and concern for a neighbor near the burn area, influenced his decision. The drone punched a 3-inch-by-6-inch hole in the left wing of the Super Scooper plane, taking the aircraft out of service during a critical moment with two crewmembers on board.
The incident unfolded on the morning of January 9. Akemann had driven to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and climbed to the top of a parking structure, from which he launched the drone. The device flew more than 1.5 miles toward Pacific Palisades to observe damage caused by the fire before Akemann lost control of the aircraft. The drone collided with the Super Scooper aircraft while it was actively fighting the blaze, and debris from the drone was recovered at the scene.
Under the sentencing terms, Akemann received 14 days in prison, 30 days of home detention and 150 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay $146,000 in restitution, with about $81,600 going to the Los Angeles County Fire Department and roughly $65,000 to the Government of Quebec, which provided the Super Scooper plane. Akemann had previously agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft in January. The judge noted that the act violated federal aviation rules in place during the wildfires, which restricted drone operations in the area.
Akemann, a long-time gaming industry executive, has served as Skydance Interactive’s chief technologist and, previously, as its president. His LinkedIn profile also notes that he co-founded Treyarch, the studio behind the Call of Duty series. The sentencing and restitution reflect the seriousness with which authorities treat interference with emergency response missions during natural disasters. In a letter to the court, Akemann said he would carry grief and remorse for the impact his actions caused to the community and to the firefighting teams on the ground.