Canadian 'Super Scooper' Plane Grounded After Hitting Civilian Drone Over LA Wildfires (cnn.com) 51
Los Angeles authorities have vowed to prosecute illegal drone operators after a civilian drone collided with a Canadian CL-415 firefighting plane combating the Palisades Fire, causing damage that grounded the aircraft and temporarily halted all aerial firefighting operations. CNN reports: The specifically designed CL-415 firefighting planes are used to scoop up more than 1,500 gallons of ocean water to drop on active fires. The plane in question, Quebec 1, "sustained wing damage and remains grounded and out of service," Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Erik Scott said, adding that there were no reported injuries. The damaged plane will be prioritized for repair and should be back up flying by Monday, L.A. County Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone said Friday. The collision caused the temporary grounding of all aircraft responding to the Palisades Fire, The War Zone reported, citing Cal Fire. It was one of the two such planes deployed to the site, The War Zone said. "You will be arrested, you will be prosecuted, and you will be punished to the full extent of the law," said Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman in a statement.
Marrone added that, "Our federal partners behind the scenes are going to be implementing procedures to be able to follow drones in our two large fire areas, and they will be able to identify who the operator of that drone is. "The most important thing to know is that if you fly a drone at one of these brush fires, all aerial operations will be shut down, and we certainly don't want to have that happen."
The FAA underscored late Thursday that it "has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the Los Angeles firefighting operations to fly drones" in restricted airspace put in place over the wildfires. "The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers swift enforcement action for these offenses," the agency said.
Marrone added that, "Our federal partners behind the scenes are going to be implementing procedures to be able to follow drones in our two large fire areas, and they will be able to identify who the operator of that drone is. "The most important thing to know is that if you fly a drone at one of these brush fires, all aerial operations will be shut down, and we certainly don't want to have that happen."
The FAA underscored late Thursday that it "has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the Los Angeles firefighting operations to fly drones" in restricted airspace put in place over the wildfires. "The FAA treats these violations seriously and immediately considers swift enforcement action for these offenses," the agency said.
Alright, which one of you was it? (Score:4, Funny)
Come on, I know you're here.
Re: Alright, which one of you was it? (Score:2)
Stalin is delivering a speech to the politburo. Just as he is about to reach a triumphant rhetorical high, there is a loud sneeze from the audience.
"Who sneezed?!"
Silence.
Once again, "Who sneezed?!"
Nothing.
"Front row! On your feet! Against the wall!" Shot dead.
"Who sneezed?!"
A lone voice, meekly, from the back, "I did."
"Bless you, comrade!" And he goes on with the speech.
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LOL
CL-415 (Score:5, Interesting)
Weird that the article doesn't actually go into any details about how cool these planes are. Here [youtube.com] is a video of how they work for those who want to geek out.
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Obviously they need to make more of them. Wildfires are going to be an increasing problem in the next decade.
Re: CL-415 (Score:2)
Back ordered for yearsâ¦
The World's Most Desperately Needed Airplane Is Back in Production
https://financialpost.com/pmn/business-pmn/the-worlds-most-desperately-needed-airplane-is-back-in-production
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That was worth watching.
Thanks!
Asshat! (Score:1)
Luck the Focker up and burn the key!
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What drone?
So far we have seen ZERO evidence that a drone was involved. Examine the following:
1. the pilot didn't see a drone. In fact he was unaware of the collision until the aircraft landed and the damage was observed.
2. there have been zero credible reports of drone-bits being found in the hole on the aircraft wing.
3. there have been zero reports that Remote ID receivers or similar tech picked up a drone in the vicinity at the time of the incident.
Don't get me wrong -- it MAY have been a drone but rig
Good. (Score:2)
Any lookie-loos that get in the way of actual firefighting in order to get clicks on social media or make a few bucks licensing footage to cable news deserve to have their shit confiscated, be legally banned from flying ANYTHING in US airspace, probably some hefty fines, and maybe even some jail time.
Firefighting resources are now unavailable while people's houses burn because of some selfish dipshit and their drone not following the law. Fuck that guy, and anyone else who's personal dipshittery is causing
Big Luigi energy (Score:2, Funny)
Did you ever consider that?
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Re: Big Luigi energy (Score:3)
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Firefighting resources are now unavailable while people's houses burn because of some selfish dipshit and their drone not following the law. Fuck that guy, and anyone else who's personal dipshittery is causing grief for firefighters trying to save vast chunks of a major city.
Let's also keep in mind that the plane is doing low altitude maneuvers over an active fire and that the operator could have killed the crew of the plane if the drone had hit an engine or got jammed in a control surface instead of hitting the nose. Isn't fighting a fire with an aircraft dangerous enough?
This is an example of what Dangerous Stupidity looks like, person is soo fucking stupid that they are risking killing the people who are risking their lives trying to save people and their property.
It's a
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This is an example of what Dangerous Stupidity looks like, person is soo fucking stupid that they are risking killing the people who are risking their lives trying to save people and their property.
Indeed. One wonders how such people do not forget to breathe.
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Republicans are angry as hell? How many Republicans do you believe live in Malibu? It's about as lefty as it gets up there.
Everybody is worked up because it's rich celebrities being affected, and the "new" media is shilling it as hard as they can because a) it sells advertising, b) some of the better known newsies have lose their homes, too, c) it sells advertising, and, last but not least, it sells advertising.
Aside from your mentally deficient hate on the right, and inability to suppress it long enough to
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30% is still a whole lot of Republicans, and they have been quite vocal about how this is all the local government's fault.
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Republicans? That's celebrities and Paris Hilton territory. That is as "left" coastal elite as you can get next to the Hamptons on the other side of the continent.
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Re:Wildfires (Score:4, Insightful)
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Angry ? The republicans are angry about these fires ? Really ? You believe that ?
There are happy as fuck, and as with everything are trying to score some gutter political points by spreading bullshit.
They are like Trump, they don't give a shit about anything but themselves. And it seems like it's working, Trump got elected.
Moderators (Score:1)
Jesus who are the idiots modding this -1 off-topic when it got like 7 replies?
Re: Wildfires (Score:3)
wel will see (Score:1)
Is it illegal? (Score:2)
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Yes, it is illegal. Very. Canadian pilot (so can't quote the relevant FAA regs) here but our laws are pretty similar. Flying drones in active firefighting zones can easily land you in jail, for this exact reason.
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There's no question in my mind that at least all but one of these fires was started on purpose. It is "wildfire season" so even though it was a bit early, it's completely believable given the weather conditions that at least one of the major fires was "naturally occurring," but the timing and spacing of the others is way too suspicious. It's like a gang of saboteurs waited for the first big wildfire of the season then as soon as the fire department was in full motion towards it they started 3 more at the ot
Look, in the sky, it's a shadow fleet (Score:1)
Who needs a shadow fleet snagging undersea fiber when you can pay a patsy $20/hr to fly their drone and stop/hinder/delay a firefighting operation that's trying to prevent a $100M/hr property loss?
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Why the actual fuck do us private citizens have to shoulder the burden of the homelessness problem, when THE RICH and CORPORATIONS are the ones who are really to blame for it?
The Rich and Corporations need to be forced to pay their fair share of taxes. Also no one *needs* to have a personal income of a billion dollars a year, or whatever figure you want to name. Past a certain dollar amount the rest should be taxed at a 100% rate. You do that and the national debt will be erased
Figured those areas were NFZ? (Score:1)
Find, prosecute, and jail that drone operator. (Score:2)
The prevalence of all these drones has caused major disruptions in both expected and unexpected ways. Unskilled and unprofessional people can operate drones dangerously and recklessly.
Whoever flew that drone has caused massive damage, and should be held fully responsible. Hopefully that may lead to other "drone operators" being a little more responsible.
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News crews perhaps?