While the fire control plane was running its duties to combat fire, the defendant headed to the area near the third street in Santa Monica, California, and stopped his car on the upper floor of the parking structure. The defendant fired the drone and flew it towards the Pacific Ocean to monitor the damage caused by the Palisades fire. At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary aircraft restrictions prohibiting drones near South California fires, including Palisades fire.
The defendant flew the drone at least 2,500 meters from the launch point and lost a visual vision of the drone while flying. After that, the drone collided with the fire control plane, causing a hole about 3 inches in the left wing of the fire control plane.
