A Culver City man will plead guilty to operating the drone that damaged and temporarily grounded a Canadian Super Scooper firefighting plane while crews battled the deadly Palisades fire, federal prosecutors announced on Friday.

Peter Tripp Akemann, 56, is expected to admit to a misdemeanor count of unsafe operation of the drone in a plea deal that also requires he pay full restitution to the government of Quebec — which owns the plane — and complete 150 hours of community service in support of the Southern California wildfire relief effort, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement.

Akemann could face up to a year in federal prison, said Joseph T. McNally, an acting U.S. attorney.

On Jan. 9, prosecutors said, Akemann drove to the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica and parked on the top floor of a parking structure, where he launched the drone — a four-propeller DJI Mini 3 Pro — that he flew toward the Pacific Palisades. The devastating fire had erupted two days prior.

Akemann wanted to observe the damage caused by the fire, authorities say. At the time, the Federal Aviation Administration had issued temporary flight restrictions barring drones over the fire area.

He lost sight of the drone after flying it more than 1.5 miles toward the blaze. It collided with the Super Scooper, which was making water drops to douse the flames, and ripped an approximately 3-by-6-inch hole in the aircraft’s left wing, grounding it for days.

The airplane had two crew members on board, who spotted the wreckage after the plane had landed.

No other firefighting aircraft was forced to land as a result of the drone strike, officials said.

“My understanding was, like a lot of individuals, he was curious about what was happening in that area,” McNally said, citing the road closures preventing people from getting into the Pacific Palisades. “It’s not the time to fly drones anytime we have emergencies in Southern California.”

There was no evidence to suggest he intended to hit aircraft with the drone, officials said.

McNally said a piece of the drone was found lodged inside the plane, and it had identifiers that investigators used to trace it back to the owner. It’s believed the strike happened over the Pacific Ocean.

“Anybody else who engages in that conduct should have confidence that we’ll identify them too,” McNally said.

The repairs are estimated to have cost more than $65,000.