“The blade cut his mouth, but there’s an actual imprint of the drone on his chest,” the boy’s mother said.
Orlando, Florida – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced an inquiry into the multiple drone crashes that occurred during a recent event in downtown Orlando. The incident resulted in drones colliding and crashing to the ground, causing injuries to a 7-year-old boy who had to undergo surgery.
The drones fell into a crowd of thousands of people watching the show Saturday night at the city’s Lake Eola Park. The show was permitted through the FAA.
Video taken by the MosquitoCoFL Podcast shows the red and green lighted drones falling from the sky onto the grass and into the water below.
Swans in the lake scattered as people could be heard questioning, “Are they supposed to be falling?”
“Our thoughts are with the family and all those impacted by the outcome of this event,” the city of Orlando said in a statement. “The city remains in contact with the vendor and FAA who will conduct a thorough investigation.”
Adriana Edgerton told Orlando television station WESH that her son, Alexander, required surgery after being hit in the chest with a drone.
“The blade cut his mouth, but there’s an actual imprint of the drone on his chest,” Edgerton said.
Sky Elements Drone Shows, the Fort Worth, Texas vendor that put on the show, didn’t immediately respond to an emailed inquiry on Monday. On the company’s website, it said, “Every step of the way, we put accuracy, execution, and compliance first.”
Drone shows typically require a waiver to operate more than one drone at a time, and the FAA reviews each drone show application to make sure “the flying public and people on the ground will be safe,” the agency said.
10 Tampa Bay’s Andrea Chu contributed to this report.
