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

[Chip]

This is a partial transcript of a statement Peter Akemann delivered to his church congregation which he asked the court to consider as part of sentencing. He also submitted a separate letter of apology to the court.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The guy is also an extremely wealthy multi-millionaire, not just your average Joe.
$65,000 to him is Chump Change.
Here is the company he cofounded and sold:

Treyarch - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Think "Call of Duty"

 

[johndrone33]

Details here:

Drone Pilot Pleads Guilty to Crashing into Super Scooper.

Jan 31, 2025

Drone Pilot Pleads Guilty to Crashing into Super Scooper

• The Droning Company
• Replies: 20
• Forum: General Discussions

• 

Since they found the drone, why was it so hard to just get the email assosiated with the remote id?
Seams to be a dji mini and you have to have an acount to fly it.

 

[mavic3usa]

Since they found the drone, why was it so hard to just get the email assosiated with the remote id?
Seams to be a dji mini and you have to have an acount to fly it.

I wouldn't say it is hard but an email addy can belong to anyone. What if johndrone33 @gmail.com was found in that drone? A DJI drone just needs "a" valid account to fly, not "your" account; any account will do. Besides, in the US, the Mini drone probably is not registered and probably doesn't not transmit RID. Without the remote controller, I'm not really sure how quickly the authorities can retrieve those things.

 

[High_Order1]

I'm split on this.
Yes, he needs to be punished.

I wonder, like some of the other incidents, was he in the airspace where other drones were working, or was he in the layer for manned aircraft?

They knew he was well-to-do when they formulated his punishment. That fine would ruin me; I'd never recover. Is this going to set a precedent for punishing drone incidents? Especially as states further encroach into the drone regulation business.

 

[Chip]

VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT

 

[mavic3usa]

^So the person who starts the fire, how much do they have to pay?

That's what I thought.

No comment on the letter (it's still too soon for some).

 

[FCFriedMann]

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.

Pretty incredible eyesight!. Lucky on a good day to see 2000'eye to drone with my Mavic 3. Not sure how anyone sees a mini past 1000 ft

 

[Chip]

Joe Public brutally weighs in:

 

[High_Order1]

Pretty incredible eyesight!. Lucky on a good day to see 2000'eye to drone with my Mavic 3. Not sure how anyone sees a mini past 1000 ft

My thought is

If you are on a mountaintop you can see a LONG way. Perhaps you can follow the strobe?

 

[mavic3usa]

No comment on the letter (it's still too soon for some).

Honestly, my opinion I feel this is a slap on the wrist.

Joe Public brutally weighs in:

Not surprised.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Since they found the drone, why was it so hard to just get the email assosiated with the remote id?
Seams to be a dji mini and you have to have an acount to fly it.

No Remote ID on his Mini 3 Pro unless he updated the FW to broadcast it, and the sub 250g Mini is exempt from pilot registration requirements. However, I believe the serial number was somehow traced back to him, as the entire drone was found inside the wing! I believe he also voluntarily came forward, once he realized the timing of the Super Scooper incident matched the timing of his lost drone. His identity was really never an issue. He freely admitted it was his drone that he was alsyo personally flying, and immediately agreed to pay for the damage, knowing it was $65,000+, long before the prosecution and sentencing took place.

 

[GadgetGuy]

My thought is

If you are on a mountaintop you can see a LONG way. Perhaps you can follow the strobe?

If he could have seen the drone, he would have also certainly have seen and been aware of the Super Scoopers flying in the area from his elevated location, and would have realized the danger his curiosity was posing.

This a case of ignorance being no excuse, and actually the cause of the incident. Just because he is a genius doesn't mean he possesses common sense or awareness! He had no ill intent, so this wasn't malicious, but it certainly was reckless, and ignorant.

Fortunately, he has the financial wherewithal to pay for the damage to the aircraft, even though the loss to property from the inability to use the Super Scooper likely far exceeds his personal net worth!

 

[johndrone33]

I wouldn't say it is hard but an email addy can belong to anyone. What if johndrone33 @gmail.com was found in that drone? A DJI drone just needs "a" valid account to fly, not "your" account; any account will do. Besides, in the US, the Mini drone probably is not registered and probably doesn't not transmit RID. Without the remote controller, I'm not really sure how quickly the authorities can retrieve those things.

If they know his gmail account, they would just ask google what his ip adress or phone number is.