Instead of saving burning houses in Los Angeles, a CL-415 firefighting plane had to make an emergency landing after colliding with a drone.
Los Angeles is still struggling with a wave of devastating fires, and each new day brings new information about losses and victims – so far 12 deaths have been confirmed and over 12,000 destructions. buildings. Nearly 1,500 firefighters from the county, supported by volunteers from Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and Arizona, are taking part in the unequal fight against the fire. The situation is so severe that fire brigades had to employ the CL-415 “Super Scooper” aircraft, designed to extinguish large areas of fire. Unfortunately, the firefighting plane was of little use as it was forced to make an emergency landing. All because of an irresponsible drone operator.
Air assistance stopped by drone
The situation in LA is terrible, and ordinary fire brigades cannot cope with the power of the element – in many places, instead of putting out fires, they limit themselves only to stopping the further spread of the fire. Air assistance is necessary, which is why the Super Scooper, a fire-fighting plane capable of carrying over 6,000 liters of water.
Due to its activity, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced local bans on the use of drones so as not to impede the work of fire departments, but not everyone complied with these restrictions. One of the users, who was recording the burning Los Angels with a drone, unintentionally or intentionally aimed the machine directly at a flying firefighting plane. The collision damaged the CL-415’s wing and forced the pilot to make an emergency landing.
Up to 12 years in prison for flying a drone in the area of firefighting activities
Both firefighters and FAA representatives do not hide their outrage. Chris Thomas, a spokesman for the California Department of Fire Protection, told The New York Times that the actions of the commercial drone operator have pushed back the dispatch of firefighters by several steps, and they now have to wait for repair work to be carried out on the CL-415 plane.
We have a saying: “If you fly, we can’t.” But I don’t know how effective it is because everyone thinks flying a drone through a fire is cool – Chris Thomas
Despite this, you can still find current videos on the Internet, recorded from commercial drones – LA residents probably do not realize that the CL-415 can drop water from a height of 30-60 meters to limit its dispersion by the wind. They are probably also unaware of the legal consequences – we entry on X The California Fire Department reminds that such recklessness is a federal crime and may, in the most optimistic scenario, result in a fine of $75,000 and, in extreme cases, a sentence of 12 months in prison.
The FAA said it will take all violations very seriously and will immediately seek to punish violators. The drone that collided with CL-415 was completely destroyed, so the culprit has not yet been found, but the services are actively working to locate it.
Stock image from Depositphotos
Source: antyweb.pl
