55 drones lost in SeaTac Fourth of July Drone Show mishap

SEATAC, Wash. — The City of SeaTac’s first ever Fourth of July Drone Show over Angle Lake didn’t go as expected due to a technical glitch that caused many drones to drop in the drink.

It reportedly cost the city $40,000 for the show, which was operated by Great Lakes Drone Company.

According to the company many of the drones lost GPS signal. When this happens, the drones are supposed to fly home. However, continued loss of signal caused many to fall into the water instead.

55 of the 200 drones were lost.

Great Lakes Drone Company released a statement about the incident:

“On July 4th, 2024, in SeaTac, WA, the drone light show performance experienced a sudden loss of GPS signal on several drones causing them to go into a failsafe landing mode. During this process the pilot took measures to stop the show and return the drones to their take off location. During this process several more drones continued to lose GPS signals causing them to not know where “home” was. At this time, the cause is unknown and under investigation by the flight team and authorities, as no internal system or drone causes have been found in the flight logs. More information will be released when we know more.”

There were no injuries as a result of the glitch.

The shortened show was followed by a fireworks show that was privately funded by the Angle Lake Shore Club.

In past years the city has partnered with the club to put on the fireworks show. However, this year the city decided to pull out of the fireworks show.

Angle Lake Shore Club gets donations for the show every year from residents. They had set aside a reserve funds over the years in the event the city ever pulled out.

The club was only able to put on the $32,000 fireworks show this year because of that reserve fund, which has now been wiped out.

It’s doubtful whether the fireworks show will be able to continue in the future without another source of funding.

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