PALATKA, Fla. — The city of Palatka is bringing its first-ever light show using drones to celebrate the start of 2025. It hired Utah-based drone company, Open Sky Productions, to pilot 200 drones over the water at the riverfront park.
But not long before the start of the show, the company putting it together decided to ramp up its safety measures after learning about the 7-year-old boy taken to the hospital after a drone fell on him during Orlando’s holiday drone show.
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“We did have the safety zone a little closer to the initial setup, but we’ve since expanded it to add more safety precautions,” said Erin Hewes, director of Blue Crab Productions, the company behind the drone show in Palatka.
Blue Crab Productions tells Action News Jax it decided to move its viewing area for the audience further away from the St. Johns River than it was originally set. It says it’s also working crowd control around the time of the show to make sure everyone is at a safe distance.
“It’s going to be a giant show, so you don’t want to be that close anyway. For safety and the view, you’re going to want to be further back,” Hewes said.
Open Sky Productions, the company piloting Palatka’s drone show, is not the same company that flew Orlando’s drone show. That company is called Sky Elements, which is now being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.
Action News Jax told you earlier this month when several drones in its show crashed into each other and fell to the ground. The 7-year-old boy put into emergency surgery after being hit by one of the falling drones has since been released from the hospital.
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Action News Jax’s Finn Carlin spoke with Alex Fisher, founder of Jacksonville-based drone company Wavepilot Aerial, about what goes into putting on a safe drone show.
“Failures during drone shows are rare,” Fisher said, “I think it’s even more rare when there’s a dysfunction or malfunction that sends a drone in the direction of the audience.”
Fisher says drone operators, like himself, have to prove to the FAA that they can safely fly hundreds of drones at once and have a safety plan in place in case they stop working all before being able to put on a drone show.
He adds that, in his more than two decades of experience, seeing a show fail like the one in Orlando has almost never happened.
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“I would, still, never hesitate to go see a show,” said Fisher, “the most dangerous part of the drone show is going to be driving in my automobile to go see it.”
Action News Jax looked into Open Sky Productions’ compliance with the FAA’s regulations. Earlier this year, the agency gave them a waiver allowing the company to pilot multiple drones at the same time, allowing them the clearance to pilot Palatka’s show.
The show is set to start right around midnight at Palatka’s riverfront park. Safety barriers will be put up around the park about two hours before to get the audience at a safe distance away from the drones.
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