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This particular aircraft was not involved in the incident, but it shows the capability of the superscooper. Photo: de Havilland Canada |
A civilian drone collided with a firefighting airplane flying over the Palisades fire in California on Thursday, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch an investigation. While the airplane in question, Quebec 1, landed safely without injury, the collision resulted in a large hole in its wing, causing it to ground and go out of operation at a time when all resources were needed. .
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| Image: LA County Fire Department |
Christopher Thomas, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the California state firefighting agency, said the strike resulted in a grounding of all aircraft for about half an hour Thursday while officials made sure the skies remained clear. cbc“We all know how quickly a fire can spread in half an hour. So this is a seriously dangerous situation because now the fire can get a little more out of control,” he said.
Quebec 1 is a Canadian CL-415 “Super Scooper”, an aircraft specifically designed to haul over 1,500 gallons of water to a fire. The drone that attacked Quebec 1 was flying illegally in restricted airspace and was destroyed in the collision. There are no details yet on who was flying the drone, but the FAA is investigating.
FAA issued a statement Regarding the incident, a warning has been given of facing consequences for flying a drone in such conditions. “Interfering with firefighting efforts on public lands is a federal crime, punishable by up to 12 months in prison,” the statement said. “Additionally, the FAA may impose a civil penalty of up to $75,000 against any drone pilot who interferes with wildfire suppression, law enforcement or emergency response operations during the temporary flight ban”.
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To prevent further incidents, LA County Fire Chief Anthony Marone said the FBI was planning to come to the area with an “air shield”. The FAA also noted that there are several Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) in place in the Los Angeles area to protect firefighting aircraft. Its statement reiterated that “all other aircraft, including drones, are prohibited from flying in the TFR until they receive authorization.”
