A drone hit the wing of a Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper plane fighting the LA fires. Cal Fire only has one other Quebec 1 aircraft in its arsenal.

Summary

A drone collision grounded one of two Super Scooper planes battling Los Angeles wildfires, leaving a critical resource unavailable.

The collision damaged the aircraft’s wing, forcing its grounding, and temporarily paused other firefighting flights, creating significant delays.

The FAA emphasized the dangers of flying drones near wildfires, noting it’s a federal crime with penalties up to $75,000 and prison time.

Over 36,000 acres have burned, with officials warning that delays in air support allow wildfires to spread rapidly, endangering lives and property.

  • littletoolshed@lemmy.worldEnglish
    66·
    10 hours ago

    This is the only speculation laid out in the article around the operator:

    The drone operator has not been identified, but there has been speculation online, with many social media users pointing to photography accounts that have posted aerial images of the fires.

    • OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml
      5·
      6 hours ago

      Reminds me of the 4chan user who gave live updates of his bank robbery. People can’t help but publish their crimes for clout

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      242·
      10 hours ago

      Yeah, it’s not just “America” it’s “LA”…

      Occam’s razor is some shit head ignored important safety regulations for views.