ORLANDO, Fla. — Days after the incident that left a 7-year-old boy in the hospital, legal experts are taking a closer look at the case – most importantly – who’s to blame for the crashing drone mishap.
“The big question here is - who’s to blame? It’s going to land in one company’s lap, as well as the city,” said Mark Nejame, an Orlando attorney.
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Nejame explained that if the City of Orlando is liable to be at fault, there’s a cap on what they would pay. “There’s only a $200,000 liability maximum for the city if they were even negligent at all,” said Nejame. “In great likelihood, they signed a contract with the drone company, and they were either immunized or held harmless for any injuries or fault that might endure to the drone company.”
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Sky Elements, the drone operator responsible for the show, is internationally known for its performances. In November, they set their 11th world record when they could fly about 5-thousand drones up in the sky simultaneously in Texas - which could play a role in a liability case.
“If you’re pushing the envelope, at what point do you cross the line,” said Nejame. “There’s some negligence here, whether it was an operator who negligently controlled everything or failed to control the drones properly, whether it was a software malfunction.
The drones used for news coverage at Channel 9 weigh about 500 grams, just over 1 lb. The drones used in the holiday light show at Lake Eola are different—they are much heavier and could weigh up to 50 lbs, depending on the kind of light equipment they use.
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“These drones are specifically made for light shows, and their payload is one vast LED dome,” said Patrick McBride is a drone pilot with many years of experience with drone light shows.
McBride explained that this kind of technology used in the performance can only be used by someone allowed to do so. “That’s not something someone can go out and just buy at a Best Buy or a Target,” said McBride.
“That’s something you have to order from the companies that manufacture these light shows specifically for this application.”
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According to his family, 7-year-old Alexander Edgerton is just over 3 feet tall and weighs about 38 pounds. McBride says the impact of a drone falling at such high speed is hazardous.
“You had these drones flying full speed, accelerating sideways, downwards. They were making a beeline straight from their formation, right into the crowd, and that can be damaging,” McBride said. “Also adding the fact that you’ve got spinning rotors, and that’s another thing that the FAA is concerned about when flying over people.”
Sky Elements has announced it is working with the FAA and the city of Orlando to identify what caused the drones to collapse.
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