Orlando drone show crashes due to misaligned flight path: National Transportation Safety Board report
The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Thursday into a problem at a Florida drone show last month that caused part of the plane to lose control and seriously injured a young boy.
The incident occurred on Dec. 21, 2024, during Sky Elements’ Christmas light show at Lake Eola Park in Orlando. , some of which collided with each other before falling to the ground.
An out-of-control drone hit a 7-year-old boy in the face and chest, causing him to pass out. His parents told FOX 35 Orlando at the time that his injuries required open heart surgery.
A preliminary report from the NTSB showed that a “combination error” before the show caused misalignment of flight paths, causing chaos for a handful of the 500 drones during the show.
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The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on a problem that occurred at a drone show in Florida on December 21, 2024. A total of 500 drones are ready to fly for the aerial show over Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida. (Sky Elements LLC reports via NTSB)
Before the show, a remote command pilot confirmed that the setup was standard and “included pre-flight checks” to ensure “software programming on all show computers matched and updated, as well as the layout of the 500-drone grid on the ground.” . According to reports.
The NTSB wrote that about five drones initially “did not accept transmission data,” but a Wi-Fi access point troubleshooting resulted in all 500 drones appearing online five minutes before the show started.
Then perform a soft reboot to ensure all drones are “ready to go.” After the reboot, two drones were removed from the show because their systems were not showing green. Once they are removed, the drone arms itself and begins a countdown to liftoff.
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“During liftoff, it was noted that the aircraft ‘layers’ were not rising evenly,” the report said. “Further investigation revealed that the launch parameter file containing the final flight path had not been sent and that the performance centers were not fully aligned.”
On December 21, 2024, during a drone show in Orlando, Florida, several drones malfunctioned, causing the drones to crash to the ground. (Image credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
Due to the misalignment, the drone changed position and altitude while moving to the first frame of the animation, causing a collision and loss of control. Countless drones fell from the sky and hit the ground, and one of them flew in the direction of the audience.
The show’s far-end conductor told the National Transportation Safety Board that he determined the safest course of action based on the steps involved in pausing the show and recovering the drone from the air was to continue the show. The remaining drones were able to complete the show and land safely.
After checking the aircraft log, the pilot found that the performance position was rotated 7 degrees, causing the “geographic hard fence to be too close to the audience.” Most importantly, the fence is not set at 1 meter as per company standards, but at 5 meters.
“A combination of errors resulted in a shrinking of the safe area beyond the company’s standards,” the report states.
Each drone participating in the show contains an SD card with data recorded on it. Operators recovered approximately 42 of the affected drones and sent their SD cards to the NTSB Vehicle Recorder Laboratory for analysis. Law enforcement officials also located a drone and sent it to the National Transportation Safety Board. Five drones believed to have crashed into the lake have yet to be found.
A handful of the 500 drones taking part in the aerial light show crashed to the ground, including five into the lake. (Image credit – X/MosquitoCoFL)
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While the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the incident, Sky Elements has proposed additional safety actions to the Federal Aviation Administration to prevent future problems, including allowing more time on site before the show, asking the chief pilot or first officer to Captain, verify that all steps are completed before the show and conduct additional training for all pilots.
The FAA has placed restrictions on Sky Elements, which performs shows across the country, suspending exemptions that allowed drones to perform near crowds and at night.
