The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a preliminary report regarding a drone crash that happened on December 21, 2024 during a holiday drone show at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, Florida. This event, orchestrated by Sky Elements LLC on behalf of the City of Orlando, resulted in a swarm of drones veering off course, with one drone striking 7-year-old Alezander Edgerton, causing severe injuries. The accident raises critical questions about safety protocols, operational standards, and drone design.
Background
The Edgerton family attended what was meant to be a festive celebration, featuring an aerial display of 500 drones performing coordinated light formations. Soon after they launched, several suddenly veered out of formation. One of the drones slammed into Alezander’s face and chest knocking him to the ground. He was taken to the hospital and had emergency open-heart surgery for his injuries.
The family, represented by product safety attorney Rich Newsome, is now seeking answers. “This obviously should never have happened. This needless crash raises a host of questions about the design and manufacture of the drone and the drone software what was supposed to protect the families who attended this show.” Newsome said he has retained a team of experts to examine the crash, the hardware and the software involved in the show. He said he and the family are also cooperating with the NTSB, the federal agency tasked by law to investigate this kind of crash.
Preliminary Findings from the NTSB
According to the NTSB’s preliminary report, the sequence of events began with technical irregularities during preflight preparations. Five drones failed to accept the launch data, prompting operators to remove two malfunctioning units and proceed with a “soft reboot” of the fleet.
Despite indications that the remaining drones were operational, discrepancies in the alignment of flight paths emerged during liftoff. A 7° rotational misalignment in the drones’ launch position, combined with an improperly configured safety buffer zone, led to a collision among the drones and their subsequent descent into the audience area.
The NTSB report said the drone operator, Sky Elements, decided to allow the show to continue, despite the initial malfunctions. The NTSB’s report emphasized operational oversights, including insufficient pre-show testing and the inadequate configuration of the drones’ safety perimeter.
Legal and Public Response
Attorney Rich Newsome has called for a thorough investigation into all parties involved, including not only the operator, but also the drone manufacturer, and the software developers. “It’s easy to blame the operator. But we need a complete investigation to understand why the engineers who designed the drone, and the controlling software failed to build a system that would prevent this needless tragedy.”
Safety Measures and Industry Implications
In response to the incident, Sky Elements proposed several safety measures to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), including extended pre-show preparation time, enhanced training for operators, and stricter oversight from senior pilots. While these measures are steps in the right direction, the incident underscores the broader need for rigorous industry standards and safer systems that should make a crash like this impossible.
Request for Information from the Public
Anyone with information about the Lake Eola drone crash – especially videos or personal knowledge about what happened – is encouraged to please contact Rich Newsome’s office by filling out the form below.