The drone, which authorities say was flying in restricted airspace on Jan. 9, put a fist-sized hole in the wing of a Super Scooper — a massive fixed-wing plane that can drop large amounts of water onto a fast-moving fire.

A California man has agreed to plead guilty to recklessly operating a drone that crashed into a "Super Scooper" firefighting aircraft during the deadly Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, prosecutors announced Friday.

The defendant has agreed to pay more than $65,000 in restitution and faces up to a year in federal prison, prosecutors said.

As part of his plea deal, the Culver City resident will pay about $65,000 for the damage his drone caused to the Super Scooper provided by the Quebec government.

A Los Angeles-area man has agreed to plead guilty to recklessly flying a drone that crashed into a firefighting aircraft battling the Palisades wildfire as it burned out of control, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

A Southern California man admitted to operating a drone that collided with a firefighting airplane during the Palisades Fire as the blaze was charring tens of thousands of acres earlier this month, officials said Friday.

Peter Akemann has agreed to cover an estimated $65,169 in plane repairs and to complete 150 hours of community service to help aid Southern California wildfire relief.