The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has enforced a pause on operations for the Texas-based drone company Sky Elements after an incident during a holiday drone show in downtown Orlando resulted in injury to a young spectator. The FAA's suspension explicitly revokes the company's "Part 107 Waiver," which is critical for pilots to operate drones beyond the usual limits of the regulations. According to reporting by FOX 35 Orlando, the mishap at Lake Eola Park on Saturday night saw multiple drones collide, and one struck a 7-year-old boy, causing significant chest injuries and necessitating emergency heart surgery.
Operating under the granted waiver, Sky Elements typically employed drone synchronizations to produce aerial designs in the night sky. But during the show on Saturday night, which went awry, their drones collided, and falling drones caused them to fall into the audience. "Several drones collided," the FAA documented, and with such force that one impacted the chest of the young boy present, damaging his heart valve, as the mother described the incident in an interview, as per WESH.
This unfortunate event prompted the FAA to suspend the waiver, which allowed the company to fly drones over people and execute other operations that were not typically permitted, as detailed in a WESH report. While the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducts an investigation that could extend to two years for a full report, the FAA's suspension is immediate and ongoing.
