Drone companys software will no longer stop flights over wildfires, other no-fly zones NBC 7 San Diego [Video]

As the Palisades wildfire raged on Jan. 9, firefighting aircraft swarmed the area, dropping water onto the flames. That was until a drone smashed into the wing of a Canadian Super Scooper plane. 

The plane landed safely, albeit with a 3-by-6-inch hole in its wing. All other aerial firefighting was stopped until officials made sure there weren’t more drones flying illegally. 

Now the company that made the drone involved in that crash just made it easier for drone operators to breach no-fly zones, including the airspace over wildfires. In a software update that took effect on Jan. 13, DJI eliminated its geo-fencing system. 

Previously, unless operators disabled that feature, drones would run into an invisible wall that would block drones from entering restricted airspace or taking off inside one. Now, drone operators will only get a warning …