A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty on Thursday to a misdemeanor charge after his drone crashed into a police helicopter, leading to an emergency landing, federal prosecutors said.
It is believed to be the first criminal conviction for unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft in the country, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement.
Andrew Rene Hernandez, 22, of Hollywood, pleaded guilty to the only charge in a guilty plea deal, according to court records.
He flew on the drone shortly after midnight on September 18 because he was curious after hearing a police helicopter and sirens, according to court documents.
The police helicopter with two policemen inside was flying after a report of theft at a nearby pharmacy, the documents say. The pilot saw the drone and tried to avoid it, but it hit the bottom of the helicopter. The helicopter made an emergency landing at an airport.
A criminal complaint quotes a policeman saying that if the drone had hit the helicopter’s main rotor, he could have shot the helicopter down.
Hernandez faces up to a year in prison when sentenced on April 12, but a plea bargain says prosecutors will recommend reductions in federal sentencing guidelines.
A federal public defender representing Hernandez did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday night. A phone number for Hernandez was not found immediately.
Hernandez admitted to investigators that he operated the drone, according to a criminal complaint. He said the drone is difficult to see at night, he looked for a few seconds at the controller and when he looked up he saw that it was “hit” by the hovering helicopter, according to the document.
While the conviction may be the first for unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft in the United States, it is not the first time that someone has been accused of illegal acts involving a drone.
Drones have been used to deliver drugs to prisons in Ohio and Michigan. And after a 2018 incident, a Georgian man was prosecuted under a drone registration law, in what was called the first.
Public safety officials in Southern California have also warned of drone operations around forest fires, which can delay or impact aerial fire-fighting operations.
