- Lawrence Ng
Human Error Causes Drones To Fall From Sky During Light Show in China
During a recent light show in China, dozens of drones from a fleet of 200 suddenly fell from the sky. The crowd dispersed immediately after the incident, which the light show manager said was caused by human error.
Three minutes after all 200 of the drones took off, they started to fall one by one. The drone operators then carried out emergency forced landing procedures.
No person was harmed and no property was damaged due to the drone crash.
The drones were meant to be a part of a light show staged above a shopping mall in the city of Zhengzhou in China's Henan province.
Before the incident, the drones were forming the name of the shopping mall. But in the middle of the performance, at least a dozen drones went dark and started dropping off from the sky onto parked cars, spectators and buildings.
A witness identified only by his surname Wang told local broadcaster Henan TV that children were a part of the crowd of around 5,000 people who gathered outside the shopping mall to watch the light show. The witness said that spectators ran with their hands over their heads to protect themselves from harm.
A 20-year-old witness, who only gave his surname Li, talked to VICE World News about the incident.
"More and more drones came off. Some flew very far away, and some hit the trees," Li said.
Li also stated that staff members picked up the drones from the floor and allowed people to take cover inside the mall.
This is not the first time a drone show has malfunctioned in the country. In May 2020, 17 drones crashed during a holiday performance in Chengdu city. Upon investigation, it was revealed that a rival drone company used drone jammers to cause the incident.
Drone light shows are becoming more popular in China in the past few years, with local businesses and tourist attractions organising drone performances to bring in crowds of spectators.
Written by Sophia Lopez