ORLANDO, Fla. — Nearly one month after a mishap Dec. 21 during a holiday drone show at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando injured a boy and sent him to a hospital, the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report Thursday on what happened.
During the first of two scheduled shows, some drones in the show, operated by the company "Sky Elements Drone Shows," collided, causing them to fall out of the sky.
The injured boy spent some time in the hospital but has since been released.
Some other drone shows that had been planned in Central Florida over the holidays, including during the last week of December at Orlando World Center Marriott, were canceled after the incident.
In its report, the NTSB report said operators worked through some software issues before the show.
But as the show began, the "aircraft layers did not lift uniformly," the NTSB said in its report.
The investigation also found that a launch file had not been sent properly.
A review of flight logs found two issues, according to the report.
- Drone positions were rotated by about 7 degrees
- Incorrect settings for the "Geo hard fence," leaving less space between the edge of the show and the viewing area, than Sky Elements' company standards would indicate
In its report, the NTSB said three safety actions should be taken in the future:
- Allow more time for on-site preparation before a show
- Establish an on-call system requiring a chief pilot or second in command to verify all necessary pre-show steps have been completed
- Additional training for all remote pilots in command
The NTSB said the investigation is still ongoing.