The FBI says it is investigating the unauthorized flight of a drone that crashed into a Canadian firefighting aircraft while it was battling the deadly and destructive wildfires in the Los Angeles area last week.
The federal law enforcement agency said Monday it is seeking information that will lead to the identity of the pilot whose drone damaged the Quebec water bomber, known as a “super scooper,” grounding the aircraft.
The FBI’s public notice said the collision left a three-by-six-inch (seven-to-15-centimetre) hole in the left wing of the aircraft. It said parts of the “heavily damaged drone” were recovered and that the plane was able to land safely after the collision.
The agency said it is seeking witness information, photos and videos of the incident, which can be submitted to the FBI online.
The FBI’s public notice seeking information that will lead to the identity of the civilian whose drone crashed into a Canadian firefighting aircraft battling the Los Angeles wildfires on Jan. 9, 2024.
FBI
The collision between the civilian drone and the plane, known as Quebec 1, occurred Thursday over the Pacific Palisades neighbourhood near Malibu, where dozens of residential blocks were completely destroyed.
The FBI noted the unauthorized drone flight was in violation of a temporary airspace restriction over the Los Angeles area due to the fires.
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The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said last week it has launched an investigation into the collision.
“It’s a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison, to interfere with firefighting efforts on public lands,” the agency said on its website Thursday. A fine of up to US$75,000 can also be imposed.
A spokesperson for Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency said at the time that the drone punctured the wing and remained embedded when the aircraft landed. The agency said the aircraft cannot fly until the damage is repaired.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Moroni warned Friday that other firefighting aircraft could be grounded by unauthorized drone flights.
“If you fly a drone at one of these brush fires, all aerial operations will be shut down. And we certainly don’t want to have that happen,” Moroni said at a news conference.
The plane was one of two Canadian-made CL-415 aircraft sent by Quebec to California every fall as part of an annual contract that has been in place for more than 30 years.
The province sent two more firefighting aircraft to California following the collision.
Pascal Duclos, head pilot for the Quebec government’s aerial service, told reporters Friday that the pilot and co-pilot inside the plane that collided with the drone didn’t realize what had happened until the aircraft landed.
“The pilot who hit the drone didn’t know he hit the drone before he landed and looked at the hole in the wing,” he said during a remote news conference from the Los Angeles area.
Several other provinces and the federal government have sent firefighting equipment and resources to the state as multiple wildfires continue to burn around the Los Angeles area. A week after the first fires began, the flames have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
—with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
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