‘It’s going to be ugly’: Firefighting pilot details the danger drones pose to aircraft above Spokane fires

A helicopter pilot, Ryan Cutter, has been working for more than a decade fighting fires from the air.

After more than 40 drones were detected above the Spokane Complex Fires, Cutter joined “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio to detail the deadly consequences drones pose to his work and why they can immediately shut down any fire response.

Host John Curley asked what happens to the firefight when a drone is detected up in the sky, and how that can hinder Cutter’s missions.

“We get shut down; the air show stops. If we hit one of those in flight, it can take us down,” Cutter said. “My previous shift, I was two and a half miles from the Canadian border, in the middle of nowhere in northern Idaho. They had a large air tanker show going up on the ridge line. We were working down on the low side of the fire, and the tanker spotted a drone. No idea where it came from or who put it up.

“It’s become a huge problem. They ask us what we want to do. A lot of the time they force us down. In that case, we stayed up because it disappeared and nobody saw it again,” Cutter continued. “They are starting to prosecute and heavily fine people for it, but it’s a slow learning curve. The cat’s out of the bag, and people just don’t think.”

Cutter explains how much damage a small drone can cause to aircraft above Spokane wildfires

Curley noted that the hefty fine for flying a drone in restricted airspace can reach up to $50,000 and asked about the sizes of the drones that are able to take Cutter out of the air.

“A lot of the time, it’s hobby drones. I’ve had them on more fires than I can count, and I’ve yet to see one,” Cutter said. “I know one of the super scoopers hit one with a wing somewhere over the LA Basin last year, I think. They have had a couple of strikes. Luckily, it was the airplane, a big one that can take it. But for us, taking something like that into the rotor or windshield can incapacitate somebody and really cause problems. I mean, into the windshield of any aircraft is going to be a problem.

“A red-tail hawk took down a very large aircraft in the Gulf of Mexico years ago,” Cutter added. “Came through the windshield, knocked out the throttle, and incapacitated both pilots. It doesn’t take much. A large bird can do some damage. Then you throw some hard plastic and metal in there, and it’ll definitely leave a mark. It hits the wrong place, and it’s going to be ugly.”

Cutter expanded on why he thinks his job is safe as AI drones are slowly being implemented into firefighting efforts, but asserted that they are currently doing more harm than good.

“Based on what I’ve seen and some of the manufacturers, I think I’m good through retirement, but the technology is changing,” Cutter said. “It’s getting better. They’re starting to do stuff at night. The drone technology is definitely advancing, and it’s good. They’re using drones quite a bit on these fires, small ones to actually ignite back burns and do mapping missions, but for the most part, they actually hinder us. I think it was Spokane that had over 80 drone intrusions.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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