Former Skydance Interactive President Pleads Guilty to Piloting Drone That Crashed Into Plane During Palisades Fire

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Previously serving as president of Skydance Interactive, Peter Akemann admitted his role in piloting the drone that crashed into a Canadian Super Scooper firefighting aircraft during the Palisades fires on January 9th, causing it to be grounded.

Akemann, who started working with Skydance’s video game and virtual reality division back in 2016 and has since moved on from his position, admitted to a misdemeanor charge of operating an unmanned aircraft unsafely. This offense, as announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California last Friday, carries a potential sentence of up to one year in federal prison.

On January 9th, an unfortunate collision between a DJI Mini 3 Pro drone and a government-provided firefighting aircraft from Quebec made headlines across the nation. This incident caused damage to one of the wings of the Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper – a plane known for its ability to scoop water from nearby sources and drop over a thousand gallons onto fires, thus helping to extinguish them. As a result, this aircraft was out of service for several days following the accident.

As stipulated in the agreement, Akemann took off the drone from the upper level of a parking lot situated close to Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade on January 9th. His intention was to use the drone to assess a fire that was burning through Pacific Palisades. However, he lost sight of the drone after flying it beyond approximately 2 miles from its initial position, eventually causing it to crash into a Canadian aircraft being piloted by two crew members.

Previously, the Federal Aviation Administration had established temporary flight restrictions prohibiting drone operations near the active wildfires in the Los Angeles region. It’s important to note that Akemann was no longer with Skydance by that time.

On Friday, Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph T. McNally stated that the defendant carelessly piloted an aircraft into an area where emergency workers were putting their lives at risk to save lives and protect property. The destruction caused to the Super Scooper serves as a clear warning about the significant danger posed by operating drones during emergencies, as it jeopardizes those who are trying to help and hinders police and firefighters from performing their duties effectively. This case shows that we will locate and prosecute individuals who break the law and disrupt the crucial work of our first responders.

In a released statement, defense lawyers Glen T. Jonas and Vicki Podberesky stated that Akemann expresses his sincere regret for the incident. He acknowledges his serious mistake in judgment and is working with authorities to rectify the situation. The statement further mentions that there are several factors that will be revealed during the trial, such as Akemann’s reliance on the geo-fencing safety feature of his DJI Drone and the malfunctioning of this feature.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Quebec government and an aircraft repair company incurred a minimum expense of $65,169 due to the damage to the plane’s wing. As part of his plea agreement, Akemann has agreed to reimburse this amount and perform 150 hours of community service to assist with wildfire relief efforts in Southern California.

Akemann, a University of California San Diego alum with a PhD from the University of California Berkeley, was one of the co-founders for video game developer Treyarch (known for games like Spider-Man and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One) and The Workshop Entertainment (creators of Sorcery and Borderlands 2: Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage). In 2016, he joined Skydance after the entertainment company acquired The Workshop and established an interactive division that has since produced games such as Skydance’s Behemoth and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.

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2025-02-01 01:55