NTSB Final Report: Uvify IFO

Accident Occurred During The Initial Phase Of A 500 Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA) Drone Light Show When Multiple Sua Failed To Achieve Proper Spatial Separation

Location: Orlando, Florida Accident Number: DCA25LA065

Date & Time: December 21, 2024, 18:35 Local Registration: UNREG

Aircraft: Uvify IFO Aircraft Damage: Substantial

Defining Event: Miscellaneous/other Injuries: 1 Serious

Flight Conducted Under: Unknown

Analysis: The accident occurred during the initial phase of a 500 small unmanned aircraft (sUA) drone light show when multiple sUA failed to achieve proper spatial separation, resulting in midair collisions and subsequent loss of control. Several sUA entered the audience which resulted in a serious injury to a spectator.

Drone show software (DSS) revealed that the uploaded show center position was incorrect resulting in an approximate 5-meter (16.4-ft) displacement from the intended location. This error caused the system to assign incorrect aircraft to flight paths. In addition, the show heading had not been entered correctly and was rotated by about 7°. These cumulative errors resulted in crossing paths and collisions during takeoff with flight paths closer to spectators than intended. Furthermore, when the show center location was updated only 498 drones were selected rather than 500, which resulted in 2 drones with different show center  positions than the others.

Because the system relies on precise spatial alignment for deconfliction, these inconsistencies caused multiple sUA to converge during the initial climb, consistent with video evidence showing non-uniform liftoff followed by collisions.

The misalignment of the show heading resulted in the show flight position being off by about 18 meters or 59 ft, which moved the show closer to the audience. The policy for margin between the soft geofence and hard geofence had changed from 5 meters (about 16.4 ft) to 1 meter (3.28 ft)12 days before the accident. According to the operator, it was the responsibility of the remote pilot-in-command (RPIC) to update the command laptops with the new margin default setting as they were being used for shows. The data revealed that the geofence margin had not been updated and was set to 5 meters (16.4 ft). The combined errors resulted in a reduced safety area that was outside the company’s standards.

The FAA-issued certificate of waiver assigned responsibility for safe operations to management personnel. However, the operator lacked a formal requirement for independent verification of critical show parameters before launch. The absence of a robust cross-check or supervisory oversight allowed multiple configuration errors—including incorrect show center position, improper heading entry, inconsistent aircraft updates, and nonstandard geofence settings—to go undetected.

Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be — The remote pilot-in-command’s (RPIC’s) failure to locate the drone show center position over the physical location of the sUA, which resulted in multiple sUA colliding during the initial lift and subsequent loss of control. Contributing to the accident was the RPIC’s inappropriate geofence that was contrary to company procedures and an incorrect show heading which moved the show closer to the spectators. Also contributing to the accident was the operator’s lack of show oversight which allowed for multiple individual errors to go undetected before show start.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov