Summary
A drone collision grounded one of two Super Scooper planes battling Los Angeles wildfires, leaving a critical resource unavailable.
The collision damaged the aircraft’s wing, forcing its grounding, and temporarily paused other firefighting flights, creating significant delays.
The FAA emphasized the dangers of flying drones near wildfires, noting it’s a federal crime with penalties up to $75,000 and prison time.
Over 36,000 acres have burned, with officials warning that delays in air support allow wildfires to spread rapidly, endangering lives and property.
The drone impacted and penetrated the leading edge of one of the wings. The leading edge is thin for weight but its shape is what makes wings work, also a hole in the leading edge allows pressure to be applied to the inside of the wing which is not one of the directions it’s designed to withstand.
Thanks. Would this have the same effect if the plane was carrying a payload of a few people who have billions of dollars in their bank accounts?
Or would it only happen with a payload of water weight?
It could have been worse, if the plane had a jet engine damage to the turbine in the front of the engine could have been catastrophic. The high speed carefully balanced spinning blades could tear the entire engine apart if damaged.