Drone-Flying Exec Is Going to Prison for 'Sheer Stupidity'

A video game exec whose drone hit a plane that was fighting the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles in January is going to prison over what he admits was a "stupid and reckless thing to do." In a plea deal earlier this year, Peter Akemann, 57, agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft and to pay restitution and complete 150 hours of community service. On Monday, a federal judge decided to sentence him to 14 days in prison and 30 days of home detention as well, SFGate reports.

In a letter to the court, Akemann expressed "sincerest remorse and deepest apologies," saying he had been flying the drone in a restricted area partly out of curiosity and partly out of concern for the home of a friend, ABC7 reports. He said he lost contact with the drone, which ended up damaging the wing of the Canadian "Super Scooper" aircraft, taking it out of action for several days while the devastating fire was still growing. Akemann has been ordered to pay $146,000 in restitution—$81,000 to the Los Angeles County Fire Department and $64,000 to the government of Quebec, which loaned the plane to the firefighting effort.

Akemann's lawyers argued that he should only be sentenced to probation, saying he "finds himself before this Court not because of greed, or malice, or bad intentions; his fault in this case is a single decision of sheer stupidity." Akemann has a long history in the video game industry, per the Hollywood Reporter. He is the former president of game developer Skydance Interactive and co-founded Treyarch, a studio best known for its work on the Call of Duty series.