FAA issued a warning of criminal prosecution for civilian drone operators in the area.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a tipline as it seeks information from the public about the owner of an unauthorized civilian drone that crashed into a firefighting airplane over the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County last week.
“The aircraft, commonly referred to as a ‘super scooper,’ was conducting fire suppression operations at the Palisades Fire near Malibu, California, and was able to land safely,” according to the FBI. “The collision left a 3-by-6-inch hole in the left wing. Parts of the heavily damaged drone were recovered.”
The collision occurred at 1 p.m. local time on Thursday. No one was injured, but the aircraft was out of service for five days to receive repairs. It is expected to rejoin fire suppression operations.
The bureau stated the incident occurred during a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA warned that the civilian operation of drones may result in criminal charges.
“It’s a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands,” the FAA said. “Additionally, the FAA can impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement or emergency response operations when temporary flight restrictions are in place.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For FBI investigators as they seek the owner of the drone that collided with the fire suppression plane.
- For FAA officials as they monitor the air space and issue TFRs to keep the sky clear for firefighting aircraft.
Sources: USA Today, MSN, DailyWire
