As firefighters struggled to contain the devastating Palisades Fire in Los Angeles in early January, someone wanted a bird's eye view, and ended up hitting a Super Scooper firefighting aircraft with their remote-controlled drone. That someone has now been identified as Peter Tripp Akemann—and both SF Gate and The Hollywood Reporter have identified him as the same Peter T Akemann who co-founded Treyarch, the game developer best known as the every-other-year Call of Duty studio (or every few years, these days).
The US Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced on Friday that Akemann has agreed to plead guilty to "one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft." Akemann will pay Quebec for the damage to the plane—it was on loan from Canada—and complete 150 hours of community service. Video of Akemann captured outside the courthouse by news media matches the Treyarch co-founder's appearance.
According to the US Attorney's Office, Akemann launched the drone from the top of a Santa Monica parking garage and lost sight of it at least a mile-and-a-half away before it collided with the plane.
The plane's two crew members were unharmed, but the aircraft had to be temporarily taken out of service due to the damage, an "approximately 3-inch-by-6-inch hole in the left wing." The repair bill was at least $65,169.
Because of the firefighting efforts, the FAA had prohibited drone-flying near the wildfires.
"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."
Ackemann is "deeply sorry for the mistake he made," according to a statement released by his lawyers (via the LA Times).
Akemann co-founded Treyarch back in the '90s, and the studio was purchased by Activision in 2001. He later co-founded The Workshop, which supported development of Gears of War 4, XCOM 2, and other games. That studio became Skydance Interactive after an acquisition by Skydance Media, and Akemann served as president of the division for a time.
