FAA investigates after several drones fall out of sky during Lake Eola holiday show

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after multiple drones fell from the sky during a drone show at Lake Eola Saturday night.

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The FAA said several small drones collided and fell into a crowd around 6:45 p.m.

Cell phone video obtained by Eyewitness News shows several drones dropping from the sky. The video shows the iconic swans at Lake Eola flying away.

Orlando Fire Department confirmed one person was injured during the event.

Read: Drones crash during downtown Orlando Holiday Show, FAA investigation underway

Adriana Edgerton told Eyewitness News her 7-year-old son was hit in the chest with one of the drones. She said the propellers of the drone also cut his face.

The FAA said it regulates drone shows.

If more than one drone is operated at a time, it requires the operator to apply for a waiver.

Each application is thoroughly reviewed, the agency said.

The FAA said it looks at the software controlling the drones, procedures in the event a single or multiple drones fail, if an aircraft gets too close to the show, how the operator keeps the drones within a confined area using GeoFencing, whether the operator has an adequate number of people to run the show, and if the operated sets up a safe and restricted area to keep people a safe distance from the show.

Channel 9′s Geovany Dias will have a live report from his interview with the child’s mother on Channel 9 Eyewitness News at noon.

The City of Orlando released the following statement:

Our thoughts are with the family and all those impacted by the outcome of this event. The City remains in contact with the vendor and FAA who will conduct a thorough investigation.
This is all the information we have available to share at this time:
Last night, a Holiday Drone Show was held at Orlando's Lake Eola Park. The 6:30 Drone Show had technical difficulties so the decision was immediately made to cancel the 8 p.m. show.
At approximately 6:48 p.m. OFD was alerted to an individual who was reported to be injured during the show. Fire personnel were already at the park, staffing an emergency tent that was approximately 50 feet away from the scene of the incident. Paramedics began to render aid as soon as they made contact with the individual.
The Holiday Drone Show was a permitted event through the FAA. It was in its third year drawing crowds of approximately 25,000. This is the second year using the vendor, Sky Elements to operate the drones.
OPD Detectives made contact with the individual’s family last night at the hospital and will continue to assist the FAA in obtaining evidence for the investigation, which is being led by the FAA.
For further inquiries into the investigation, contact the FAA.
— City of Orlando

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