Drones Crash at Orlando Holiday Show, Injuring 7-Year-Old Boy
A 7-year-old boy underwent open-heart surgery after a drone show at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando, Florida, ended in chaos when the devices came crashing down on the crowd. The incident occurred on Saturday during the City of Orlando’s holiday light drone show.
According to the family of the injured boy, Alexander, 7, one of the drones knocked him out on impact, causing a chest injury. His parents, Adriana Edgerton and Jessica Lumsden, reported that their son underwent open-heart surgery the following day.
The City of Orlando canceled the second show of the evening due to technical difficulties, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is leading the investigation into the incident. A spokesperson for the City of Orlando confirmed that the city is in contact with the vendor to determine what occurred.
Drone expert Dr. Vivek Sharma of the Florida Institute of Technology speculated that the malfunction might be caused by GPS interference, programming errors, or drone collisions. The exact cause of the drone malfunctions is still unknown.
Alexander’s family has provided additional information on the incident, which has left the community shaken. The City of Orlando and the FAA are working together to determine what caused the drones to malfunction and take corrective action to ensure such incidents do not happen in the future.
