Call of Duty studio co-founder confirms he crashed a drone into aircraft fighting LA wildfires

The Department of Justice could throw a co-founder of a prominent Call of Duty studio in prison for up to a year after he admitted to crashing a drone into a firefighting aircraft that was battling the Los Angeles wildfires.

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Treyarch co-founder Peter Akemann

According to a new press release by the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, Peter Tripp Akemann has agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft. Reports indicate Akemann, who is a co-founder of prominent Call of Duty studio Treyarch, was irresponsibly and recklessly flying a drone when it collided with a CL-415 Super Scooper, resulting in a 3-by-6-inch hole in its left wing and the eventual grounding of the aircraft.

The aircraft is capable of carrying up to 1,600 gallons of water and is considered to be one of the most effective methods of fighting wildfires. The Justice Department estimated the damages caused to the aircraft to cost "at least" $65,169, which didn't include the time the aircraft was grounded and not fighting fires that resulted in more property damage.

Akemann launched the drone over the Palasiades area and intended to use the unmanned aircraft to observe the damage caused by the wildfire. However, Akemann flew the drone approximately 1.5 miles away from him before he lost sight of it and then eventually collided with the firefighting aircraft. Notably, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) placed a flight restriction on the area at the time.

"This defendant recklessly flew an aircraft into airspace where first responders were risking their lives in an attempt to protect lives and property," Acting US Attorney Joseph McNally said. "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."