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 DJI Mini 3 Pro 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 in the '90s co-founded Treyarch, the game developer that went on to become Activision's every-other-year Call of Duty studio (or every few years, these days). After leaving Treyarch, he founded another game studio in 2008.
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," which carries a maximum prison sentence of one year. 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."
As part of his plea agreement, Akemann will pay the Quebec government for the damage to the plane and complete 150 hours of community service. The US Attorney's Office will recommend a reduced offense level in return for his guilty plea.
Akemann is "deeply sorry for the mistake he made," according to a statement from his attorneys, Glen T Jonas and Vicki Podberesky.
"He accepts responsibility for his grave error in judgment, and is cooperating with the government in effort to make amends," the statement reads. "There are a number of mitigating factors that will come to light during the court proceedings including Mr Akemann's reliance on the DJI Drone's geo fencing safeguard feature and the failure of that feature."
Akemann co-founded Treyarch in 1996, and in 2001 the studio was purchased by Activision, which morphed it into a Call of Duty house. Akemann then co-founded The Workshop, which supported development of Gears of War 4, XCOM 2, and a few other major games. That studio became Skydance Interactive after being acquired by Skydance Media, and Akemann was president of the division for a time.
