A Canadian “Super Scooper” aircraft fighting the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles was forced to make an emergency landing after colliding with a drone flying in restricted airspace on Thursday. The CL-415 firefighting plane, Quebec 1, sustained wing damage and is currently out of service. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries.
The collision caused the temporary grounding of all aircraft responding to the Palisades Fire, which is one of the two CL-415 planes deployed to the site. The plane, bearing the tail number C-GQBG, was photographed showing a hole in the front of one of its wings.
The incident is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has not authorized anyone to fly drones in restricted airspace over the wildfires. The FAA emphasized that drones near aerial firefighting can ground air tankers, slow fire response, and cost lives.
The Canadian province of Quebec sends two CL-415 planes annually to California under a 31-year-old agreement between the two governments. The planes are used to scoop up over 1,500 gallons of ocean water to drop on active fires.
