The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released a preliminary report into the issue that caused some planes to go out of control at a drone show in Florida last month, seriously injuring a young boy.
The accident occurred during a Christmas light show held by Sky Element at Lake Eola Park in Orlando on December 21, 2024.
Hundreds of people watched the air show as several drones took off out of formation, some colliding with each other before falling to the ground.
One of the deadly drones hit a seven-year-old boy in the face and chest, knocking him unconscious.
His parents told FOX 35 Orlando at the time that his injuries required open heart surgery.
A preliminary NTSB report found that “multiple errors” shortly before the show began threw off their flight paths and disrupted a small number of 500 drones during the performance.
Prior to the show, the remote pilot in command said the setup was standard and that “the flight It was confirmed that the system was configured in a pre-check. According to the report.
Initially, about five of the drones “did not accept launch data,” but after troubleshooting Wi-Fi access points, all 500 drones appeared on the network five minutes before the show was scheduled to begin, the NTSB said. I'm writing.
A soft restart was then performed to ensure all drones were “show ready”.
Two drones were removed from the show because their systems did not appear green after rebooting. Once the drone was taken out, it was armed and the countdown to launch began.
“It was found that the aircraft's 'layer' did not lift up evenly during takeoff,” the report said.
“Further investigation revealed that the launch parameters file containing the final flight path was not transmitted and the show center was not fully calibrated.”
Due to the misalignment, the drone changed position and altitude as it moved to the first frame of the animation, causing it to collide and become uncontrollable. Numerous drones fell from the sky and crashed to the ground, one of which flew towards the audience.
The program's remote pilot told the NTSB that given the procedures for pausing the program and retrieving the drone from the air, he determined that the safest course of action was to continue the program.
The remaining drones were able to complete the show and land safely.
An examination of the aircraft log by the pilot revealed that the show's position had rotated seven degrees, resulting in “geohard fences coming too close to the audience.”
Moreover, the fence was 5 meters long, rather than the internal standard of 1 meter.
“The combined errors reduced the safety margin and exceeded the company's standards,” the report said.
Each drone that participated in the show contained an SD card with recorded data.
Approximately 42 impacted drones were recovered by their operators and their SD cards were sent for analysis at the NTSB's Vehicle Recorder Lab.
Law enforcement officers also located one drone and sent it to the NTSB.
Five drones that appeared to have fallen into the lake were never recovered.
The NTSB is still investigating the incident, but is implementing additional safety measures to prevent future problems, including more time on scene before the show and requiring a lead pilot or second-in-command. The measure was proposed by Sky Element to the Federal Aviation Administration. We ensure all steps are completed before the show and provide additional training for all pilots.
The FAA imposed restrictions on Sky Elements, which hosts shows across the country, including suspending an exemption that allows drone performances near crowds and at night.
