Drone pilot to plead guilty in collision that grounded aircraft fighting Palisades fire

[Wreckhunter]

So, for some reason you feel you're more capable of interpreting my statement than I am? Funny.
My words stand for themselves.

Do you feel that everyone who was flying a drone during the fires should receive the maximum penalty? Do you feel everyone who flies their drone in an "unsafe" manner should be prosecuted and receive a maximum penalty?

Do you feel you're better equipped to deal out the punishments than whatever judge will be doing it?

All done here ,its apparent you are all in for illegal activity,and probably should look into getting some much needed help.

 

[Wreckhunter]

Wonder if plea deal allowes him to still own drones and fly them, that could sting more for him than the 65k I belive he is fairly well off.

No I would think his drone flying days are done at least for a while.

 

[Bad Santa]

All done here ,its apparent you are all in for illegal activity,and probably should look into getting some much needed help.

All my life I've dealt with people who use hyperbole as a method of "debate" in an attempt to discredit them.
Funny thing is, it works on naïve people, those with a low IQ, and immature people.

It doesn't work on me.
I am happy that you are done with me.

 

[MS Coast]

All my life I've dealt with people who use hyperbole as a method of "debate" in an attempt to discredit them.
Funny thing is, it works on naïve people, those with a low IQ, and immature people.

It doesn't work on me.
I am happy that you are done with me.

Hmm. One might recall your post #4:

"No reason to hang him for it."

"Nobody died so vengeance isn't necessary."

 

[TonyPHX]

Jokers like that guy risked the lives of people already working in a tense situation. I am ok if they fine and give him a societal time-out.

 

[AMann]

All done here ,its apparent you are all in for illegal activity,and probably should look into getting some much needed help.

Seems to be the norm these days…

 

[Dalton916]

I work for the USFS and in Aviation on Wildfire assignments…..please, for the love of all things holy, stop flying near wildfires.

 

[Dmcvey]

The article stated "He flew the drone [a DJI Mini 3 Pro] about 1.5 miles before losing sight of it."

That statement implies he could see it when the drone was less than 1.5 mile away. Personally, I find it hard to believe he could see it at, say, 1 mile away.

Not that it matters much. He will forever be guilty of a Federal crime and the $65,000 repayment order is no small amount.

I lose my Mavic at around 1600 -1800 feet.

 

[Blue Thunder Pilot]

What is proposed as a plea is a practically a sweetheart deal. So he owes a lot of money. Good luck trying to get that out of him. It's ok till it isn't doesn't sit well with me.

He did something a lot of people are doing but don't get caught. Had he not collided with the tanker but been caught he and his lawyers would have been whining 'Hey nothing bad happened, he was just having fun. But he collided because he was doing something grossly wrong.

I have no problem with courts making an example of him. He doesn't need to be sent to drawn and quartered or even sent to GTMO. A few months in prison would be appropriate. Add in a fine, restitution, a felony conviction, and I'd be ok with that. Slaps on the wrist for what he did, for what could have happened are inappropriate. Send a wakeup call. As he's remanded, the judge should say it could have been worse.

I agree with these guys:

“This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “This damage caused to the Super Scooper is a stark reminder that flying drones during times of emergency poses an extreme threat to personnel trying to help people and compromises the overall ability of police and fire to conduct operations. As this case demonstrates, we will track down drone operators who violate the law and interfere with the critical work of our first responders.”

“Lack of common sense and ignorance of your duty as a drone pilot will not shield you from criminal charges,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Please respect the law, respect the FAA’s rules and respect our firefighters and the residents they are protecting by keeping your drone at home during wildfires.”

 

[Blue Thunder Pilot]

I lose my Mavic at around 1600 -1800 feet.

Yeah maybe Chuck Yeager could have seen it at a mile, but I don't think our hero had a prayer. Maybe he had some 20x70 Oberwerks. No, ok. VLOS is for wimps. /s

 

[Blue Thunder Pilot]

I belive he is fairly well off.

I'd like to know his financial status and if he is well off. If that were the case then I'd not want to see him basically buy his way out.

The terms of the plea deal have been set and the judge will probably go along with it as both sides are ok with it. I wish the just would say "Really? That's it? I think not." But no, it's not like he did anything really wrong. /s

 

[mavic3usa]

Just think of plea bargaining for what it really is, more like a constitutional right where a defendant has the right to plea guilty and not be at the mercy of the public, the judges, the prosecutors, the governments, the drone community, and a ton of other people who would rather see someone hang. But I get it, everybody wants to see everybody else swinging on the other end of a rope and it's not just in our community, it's everywhere. Lock em up! Thank goodness there are provisions, like this one, designed to make sure people are absolutely and unequivocally innocent unless proven guilty, they'll get a fair trial, and their punishment is commiserate with this crime. To me personally, there are only about a dozen hardcore crimes that I can think about which are exception.

Otherwise, just take a peek into our brutal past (which I know a lot of people miss and would love to make us great again). We've done this before and it just doesn't work. Locking this guy up is a zero deterrent to flying a drone in restricted airspace; zip. In this case I don't think someone's financial history should play a part in getting equal treatment under the law (with some exceptions of course) since ultimately he's not going to pay this no more than anyone would. The citizens are paying for that broken aircraft, the taxpaying public in the state of California. I refuse to believe most poor people commit crimes and violations thinking they won't have to pay the fines and I refuse to believe most rich people commit crimes and [major/sensible] violations thinking they can just pay for it and they won't be held accountable. If we don't adhere to the principles, we won't have a [free] country. they caught the guy, our job as a community is largely done and besides our personal opinions, we don't have much of a dog in the subsequent legal fight IMHO.

Plea Bargaining

www.law.cornell.edu

 

[DarR-T]

Do you feel that everyone who was flying a drone during the fires should receive the maximum penalty? Do you feel everyone who flies their drone in an "unsafe" manner should be prosecuted and receive a maximum penalty?

I must say those are interesting questions from both an ethical and legal point of view.
Should the guy convicted of flying in the clouds receive a lessor penalty than the pilot of a drone that hit a manned aircraft? Both are the same until fate decided the outcome. Consequently, does fate have a price attached to it?