Judge Orders Prison Time, Home Detention, and $156K Restitution for Dangerous Drone Flight
Los Angeles prosecutors announced Monday that a Culver City man who flew a drone into a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft battling the Palisades Fire has been sentenced to prison time, home detention, and restitution, as reported by My News LA.
Peter Tripp Akemann, 57, pleaded guilty in February to one federal misdemeanor count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. Akemann was a Hollywood executive, as the Former president of Skydance Interactive.
U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald ordered Akemann to serve 14 days in federal prison followed by 30 days of home confinement. The sentence also includes roughly $156,000 in restitution and fines, as well as 150 hours of community service tied to wildfire recovery efforts.
Prosecutors said the crash happened Jan. 9, when Akemann launched his drone from the top level of a parking structure at Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade and flew it more than 1.5 miles toward the Pacific Palisades fire zone. The drone struck a Super Scooper carrying two crew members, tearing a three-by-six-inch hole in the plane’s wing. Though the aircraft landed safely, it was immediately grounded for repairs, disrupting firefighting operations at a critical time.
Court documents show that Akemann admitted to knowingly violating Federal Aviation Administration temporary flight restrictions in place near the wildfire area. In a letter to the court, he apologized to the crew and the public, describing his actions as “stupid and reckless” and saying he was motivated by concern for a friend’s nearby home and curiosity about the fire damage.
The collision resulted in more than $65,000 in repair costs, which Akemann agreed to fully reimburse the government of Quebec, which supplied the aircraft, and the company that completed the repairs.
Federal prosecutors emphasized that unauthorized drone flights near wildfires pose a significant danger to firefighting crews and can lead to criminal prosecution, especially when they interfere with emergency operations.
