An aerial light show that ended with more than 400 drones plunging into the water in Melbourne was caused when wind conditions overwhelmed the technology and pilot’s ability to respond, the nation’s air transportation authority has said.
The July 2023 light show operated by Australian Traffic Network, meant to coincide with the Matildas’ warm-up game with France’s national women’s soccer team at Marvel Stadium, ended when hundreds of drones dropped into the Yarra River.
Divers trying to retrieve drones from the Yarra River in 2023.Credit: Wayne Taylor
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s investigation concluded that the swarm of 500 Damoda Newton V2.2 drones, operated by Australian Traffic Network, were pushed out of position by winds which exceeded the standards set for the units.
Shortly after launching the swarm, the pilot identified “both visually and from errors displayed on their ground control station computer” that many drones were out of position.
Nevertheless, as the drones followed directions to move from the launch area to the show area over the water, more errors appeared on the GCS computer and the drones began colliding, the ATSB said.
“As the errors cascaded, drones were observed to be out of position and colliding with one another,” ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
In response, the drone pilot “commanded the swarm to loiter and hold position, and attempted to return those with the most significant errors to the launch site individually”.
But the drones instead lost connection with the pilot, and fell en masse into the river.
The ATSB’s probe found the drones were operating in wind conditions exceeding their capability shortly after launch, which triggered collisions and a series of technical errors. The pilots didn’t recognise that wind limit exceedance information was available on their console for controlling the units, and the software didn’t actively alert pilots to the problem.
The ATSB said 427 of 500 drones were lost. Immediately after the event, divers retrieved as many drones from the Yarra as possible to prevent their lithium batteries from polluting the river.
“This incident demonstrates the importance of drone pilots being familiar with all functionality and data provided by relevant ground control software,” Mitchell said.
The ATSB said the drone maker is also considering updating its software to generate alerts for windy conditions that can affect the operation of the drones.
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