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 on December 21, 2024, during a Christmas light show held by Sky Elements at Lake Eola Park in Orlando. As hundreds of people watched the air show, several drones took off out of formation and some collided with each other. before it hits 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 report from the NTSB revealed that a “complex error” shortly before the start of the show threw off its flight path, causing a small number of 500 drones to wreak havoc during the performance.
Child sent to hospital after drone accident during Orlando holiday air show
The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on what happened at a drone show in Florida on December 21, 2024. 500 drones were set up to fly during the air show over Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida. (Sky Elements LLC, via NTSB report)
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 troubleshooting the Wi-Fi access points resulted in all 500 drones appearing on the network five minutes before the show started, the NTSB wrote. There is.
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.
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“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.”
Multiple drones malfunctioned during a drone show in Orlando, Florida on December 21, 2024, causing unmanned flying objects to crash into the ground. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
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.
Examination of the aircraft log by the pilot revealed that the show's position had been 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.
Several of the 500 drones that took part in the air light show crashed to the ground, and five of them fell into the lake. (Credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
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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.
