Summary
A firefighting super scooper battling the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles collided with a privately-owned DJI drone, causing significant damage and delaying operations.
The FBI is investigating to identify the drone’s owner, as unauthorized drones near wildfires pose risks to firefighting efforts.
Temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) are in place, but violations can lead to prosecution, fines, and jail time.
The damaged aircraft, one of only two available, is out of service until Monday.
Can DJI not pull flight data for an area/time frame and see who was flying it?
DJI doesn’t track every one of the hundreds of thousands of drones they sell. And there’s no requirement that a drone even have an internet connection of anything like that.