Los Angeles Wildfires: Canadian ‘Super Scooper’ aircraft grounded after colliding with civilian drone
Los Angeles: According to the local fire service, a Canadian “Super Scooper” plane battling the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles had to be grounded Thursday after colliding with a drone operating in restricted airspace above the destructive fire.
In order to drop on active flames, the specially built CL-415 firefighting aircraft collect almost 1,500 gallons of ocean water.
According to Erik Scott, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department, the aircraft in issue, Quebec 1, “sustained wing damage and remains grounded and out of service.” No casualties were recorded.
According to The War Zone, which cited Cal Fire, the accident resulted in the temporary grounding of all aircraft responding to the Palisades Fire. According to The War Zone, it was one of two similar aircraft sent to the location.
The aircraft, which had the tail number C-GQBG, was photographed by the LAFD with a hole in the front of one of its wings. Several flight tracking sources indicate C-GQBG as a Canadair CL-415.
Under a 31-year-old pact between their governments, the Canadian province of Quebec sends two CL-415 aircraft to California each year, according to CNN news partner CBC.
A representative for Quebec’s Transport Ministry, Sarah Bensadoun, told CBC that the province deploys a firefighting squad consisting of 20 technicians and 25 pilots.
Using both American-English spelling and the more usual British-English spelling in Canada, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared a video of one of the aircraft in operation in California on X on Thursday, describing it as an instance of “neighbors helping neighbors.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said the firefighting aircraft landed safely and is now investigating the midair accident.
Late Thursday, the FAA reaffirmed that it “has not authorized anyone unaffiliated with the Los Angeles firefighting operations to fly drones” in the area that has been set aside for restricted flights due to the wildfires.
“The FAA considers swift enforcement action for these offenses and takes these violations seriously,” the agency said.
According to the report, drones near aerial firefighting have the potential to kill people, impede fire response, and ground air tankers.
The agency using the aerial firefighting aircraft was not identified by the FAA. According to flight monitoring data, helicopters and air tankers operated by Cal Fire, county fire agencies, and federal contractors were all over the flames in Los Angeles on Thursday.
