Image: ATSB/Google Earth
Soon after a swarm of 500 drones was launched for a planned light display in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, the remote pilot-in-command (RPIC) observed — visually and on the ground control station (GCS) — that multiple drones were out of position.
Despite the positioning problems, the drones — Damoda Newton 2.2 Remotely Piloted Aircraft, each weighing 725 grams (1.6 lb) with a single LED color-changing light mounted on the bottom —automatically began moving from the launch location to the show area, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said in its final report on the July 15, 2023, accident. As they moved, an increasing number of errors appeared on the ground control station.
“As the errors cascaded, drones were observed to be out of position and colliding with one another,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell added, and some of the drones breached the geofence designed to contain them to a specific a…
