Californian Man to Face Serious Charges of Crashing a Drone into an LAPD Chopper

Government Helicopters - News

A man who resides in Hollywood, CA, will be aligned in court to face a federal charge of crashing a drone into an LAPD helicopter. The action jeopardized the lives of those in the chopper and prompted the pilot to make an emergency landing.

According to the reports released to the news outlets by the Justice Department, the perpetrator known as Andrew Rene Hernandez aged 22 was apprehended by FBI agents on Thursday and will face one count of unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft.

This will be the first case in the US that involves drone collision.

Reports from the feds indicated that the crime occurred on Sept. 18 when the LAPD was called into action to respond to a burglary at a Hollywood pharmacy and needed air support for extra surveillance. The pilot noticed the drone too late and was unable to avoid it which lead to a collision that forced an emergency landing.

The federal authorities felt that this occurrence could have been deadly if the drone had hit the fuselage or collided with the rotor since it would have brought the chopper crashing down.

Hernandez confessed to the feds that he had been flying the unmanned aircraft and said that he was using it to see what was going on in his neighborhood.

The actions of the operator could have ended badly and the attorney’s office felt that they had to charge him to serve as a warning to other people who engage in unsafe operation of drones.

The parts of the drone were located by LAPD officers close to the Pharmacy and in the process of crashing it damaged a vehicle.

Hernandez was identified by the investigators as the perpetrator from Camera footage taken by the unmanned aircraft. This crime attracts a prison sentence of up to one year in prison.

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