Ocala to decide on drone agreement following incident at Orlando holiday event

OCALA, Fla. – The Ocala City Council will decide Tuesday whether to terminate its contract with the company behind its Fourth of July drone show.

Sky Elements, the company responsible for the drone show at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando last month, was also behind the incident where drones collided, resulting in a young boy being struck.

The National Transportation Safety Board’s initial findings revealed that some of the drones participating in the show had not been receiving crucial data up until five minutes before the event. This lack of data caused a lack of synchronization in the drones’ launch sequence, leading to collisions between them.

Reports obtained by News 6 indicated that the drones were intended to be positioned directly above Lake Eola during the performance, maintaining a safe distance from the spectators. However, an examination of aircraft records highlighted a 7-degree misalignment in the positioning for the show, resulting in the drones flying too close to the audience.

Some Ocala leaders now want to end the deal with Sky Elements since the NTSB investigation won’t be done by the Fourth of July show.

Sky Elements responded to the city council saying it’s made safety changes, including requiring two drone pilots on site who each will have to approve a 55-item pre-safety checklist before any show.

Tuesday’s meeting is set for 3 p.m.