The FBI said it is investigating the unauthorized flight of a drone that collided with a Canadian firefighter plane while it was battling deadly and devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area last week.
The federal law enforcement agency said Monday it is seeking information that would lead to the identity of the pilot whose drone destroyed a water bomber in Quebec, known as a “super scooper,” grounding the plane.
The FBI public notice said the impact left a three-by-six inch (seven to 15 centimeters) hole in the plane’s left wing. She added that parts of the “severely 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 public notice seeks information that would lead to the identity of the civilian whose drone collided with a Canadian firefighter plane fighting wildfires in Los Angeles on January 9, 2024.
FBI
The collision between the civilian drone and the aircraft known as Quebec 1 occurred on Thursday over the Pacific Palisades neighborhood near Malibu, where dozens of residential buildings were completely destroyed.
The FBI noted that the unauthorized drone flight was a violation of temporary airspace restrictions over the Los Angeles area due to the fires.
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The US Federal Aviation Administration said last week that it had begun an investigation into the accident.
“It is 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 $75,000 can also be imposed.
A spokesperson for Quebec’s wildfire prevention agency said at the time that the drone punctured the plane’s wing and remained anchored when the plane landed. The agency said the plane will not be able to fly until the damage is repaired.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Morrone warned Friday that other firefighting aircraft could be grounded due to unauthorized drone flights.
“If you fly a drone into one of these wildfires, all air operations will be stopped. We certainly don’t want that to happen,” Morrone said at a news conference.
The plane was one of two Canadian-made CL-415s that Quebec sends to California each fall as part of an annual contract that has been in effect for more than 30 years.
The county sent two other firefighting planes to California following the collision.
The pilot and co-pilot inside the plane that collided with the drone did not realize what had happened until the plane landed, Pascal Duclos, chief pilot of the Quebec government’s air service, told reporters on Friday.
“The pilot who hit the drone did not know he had hit the plane before landing and looked at the hole in its wing,” he said during a remote news conference from the Los Angeles area.
Several other counties and the federal government have sent firefighting equipment and resources to the state as multiple wildfires continue throughout the Los Angeles area. A week after the first fires broke out, the flames destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
– With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
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