Man pleads guilty after drone hits LAPD helicopter, first of its kind

A Los Angeles man pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of misdemeanor after his drone crashed into a police helicopter, causing an emergency landing, federal prosecutors said.

It is believed to be the first criminal conviction for the dangerous use 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, has pleaded guilty to the single count in a plea deal, court records show.

He flew the drone just 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 officers inside was flying after a reported burglary at a nearby pharmacy, documents said. The pilot saw the drone and tried to avoid it, but struck the bottom of the helicopter. The helicopter made an emergency landing at an airport.

A criminal complaint quotes an officer as saying that if the drone had struck the main rotor of the helicopter, it could have knocked the helicopter down.

Hernandez faces up to a year in jail when sentenced on April 12, but a plea deal says prosecutors will recommend cuts to federal sentencing guidelines.

A federal public defender representing Hernandez did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday evening. A phone number for Hernandez could not be found immediately.

Hernandez admitted to investigators that he had operated the drone, according to a criminal complaint. He said the drone was difficult to see at night, he looked at the controller for a few seconds and when he looked up he saw that he had been “hit” by the hovering helicopter, according to the document.

While the conviction may be the first for unsafe operating an unmanned aircraft in the United States, it is not the first time that someone has been charged with illegal acts involving a drone.

Drones have been used to drop drugs in Ohio and Michigan prisons. And in a 2018 incident, a Georgian man was prosecuted under a drone registration law, in what had been called a first.

Southern California public safety officials have also warned of drone operations around wildfires, which can delay or impact aerial firefighting operations.