Strong winds were responsible for more than 400 drones crashing into Melbourne’s Yarra River during a light show celebrating the Matildas before the Women’s World Cup. The show, which used 500 Damoda drones, was scheduled for the evening of July 14, 2023, over the river in Docklands, Melbourne’s CBD.
The drones, celebrating Australia’s women’s football team, launched at 6:30 pm. Less than two minutes later, many drones began showing critical errors indicating an autopilot failure, according to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau report released this week.
Following the incident, pilots lost connection to the drones, causing them to collide with each other, as noted by the ATSB chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell. The remote pilot tried to return the drones to the launch site individually but 427 of the 500 drones were lost, with the majority falling into the Yarra River. Divers recovered 236 of the 427 drones that entered the water, leaving 191 unrecovered.
The ATSB’s investigation attributed the cause of the collisions and errors to wind conditions that exceeded the drones’ capacity shortly after launch. The report highlighted that the remote pilot was unaware of the displayed wind speed affecting the drones on the ground control station’s computer screen. Moreover, the operator lacked a system enabling all its pilots to use the ground control station’s software features, which increased the risk of failing to identify potential issues before the show.
The incident underscores the importance of drone pilots being acquainted with all functionality and data provided by ground control software. It also emphasizes the impact of human factors on drone operations and the need for proactive consideration and management.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jul/16/strong-winds-blamed-for-427-drones-falling-into-yarra-river-during-womens-world-cup-light-show
