Stephanie Heath
A California tech executive is facing jail time and a substantial fine after his drone collision with a Palisades Fire aircraft.
Videos by Rare
The Details: Peter Tripp Akemann, a California tech executive, crashed his drone into a Palisades Fire aircraft and is now facing the consequences.
- People Magazine shares that Akemann is an executive in the video game industry and was “a co-founder of Treyarch, the company behind the popular Call of Duty franchise.”
- The 56-year-old flew his drone toward the Pacific Palisades to observe fire damage.
- Eventually, the tech executive lost sight of his drone, and it collided with a Super Scooper, which People Magazine shares is “a plane that rapidly scoops water from nearby lakes, rivers, or oceans.”
- The collision with the drone created a “3-inch-by6-inch hole in the left wing” of the aircraft.
California Tech Executive Suffers Consequences Of Drone Collision
After his collision, Akemann must now face the consequences. A press release shared that Akemann agreed to plead guilty. Here are some key points from the press release.
- “Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft.”
- In a plea agreement, Akemann also agreed to “plead guilty to the criminal offense and admitted to his reckless and illegal conduct in flying the drone that posed an imminent safety hazard to the Super Scooper crew.”
- As part of his agreement, “Akemann also agreed to complete 150 hours of community service in support of the 2025 Southern California wildfire relief effort.”
Further Implications of His Actions: In addition to his community service, this California tech executive was also sentenced to 14 days in federal prison. Additionally, he faced 30 days of home detention and two years of supervised release. Not to mention that he must pay $146,000 in restitution as well as a $9,500 fine.
While his punishment may seem harsh, it is also fitting. The press release shared that 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.” Thus, meaning that Akemann’s recklessness not only put the plane’s pilot at risk, but it also impeded efforts to help manage the fires.
