ORLANDO, Fla. – The second of two planned holiday drone shows at Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando was canceled after what the city described as “technical difficulties,” but one viewer who was at the show said he could see multiple drones crashing into each other before falling to the ground.
Philippe, from the X account MosquitoCoFL Podcast, shared video of the incident with News 6.
In the video posted below you can see what appears to be several drones fall to the ground while a child can be heard asking, ”are they supposed to be falling?”
Philippe, who was at the show with his son, said he estimated maybe a few dozen drones crash into each other during the start of the 15-minute show before “falling out of the sky” and crashing into the water and on land.
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When reached for comment, officials with the Orlando Fire Department said that one person was taken to the hospital for a minor injury, but did not specify what caused the injury.
Surprisingly, the remainder of the 6:30 p.m. show continued on as planned, despite the incident. The 8 p.m. show was canceled.
Due to technical difficulties the 8 p.m. Holiday Drone Show at Lake Eola has been canceled. We apologize for any inconvenience.
— City of Orlando (@citybeautiful) December 22, 2024
“You could see area that were missing the drones,” Philippe said.
City of Orlando Public Information Manager Andrea Otero released the following statement, saying the FAA is handling the investigation:
“We are in contact with the vendor to determine what occurred with the operation. FAA is handling the investigation.”
Andrea Otero, city of Orlando
News 6 also reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for updates.
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