VIDEOS/PHOTOS: SeaTac’s ~$40,000 Drone Show fails, fireworks save the day; city releases statement

EDITOR’S NOTE: The City of SeaTac released a statement on Friday afternoon in response to its drone show failure at Angle Lake Park on the 4th of July, which we have included below.

Residents packed into SeaTac’s Angle Lake Park on the 4th of July to enjoy the festivities and await the drone light show, only to be disappointed, as the event never really took off.

In March, the City made the decision to cancel the traditional fireworks show over Angle Lake due to a legal interpretation of a 1932 Washington State Supreme Court ruling.

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Amid the disappointment felt by the community, the Angle Lake Shore Club made the decision to put on a privately funded fireworks show in tandem with the drone light show planned by the city.

As night fell and residents settled in, it became apparent that the show was being delayed. The drone show was scheduled to go first, but as the night crept past the start time, the skies remained empty and dark.

Fuzz Hill, Media Manager of the Angle Lake Shore Club and coordinator of the fireworks show said he spoke with the Fire Marshall and was told the drone operator was having technical difficulties. At that time, Hill was given the authorization to start the fireworks show.

A brilliant 20-minute fireworks display was started to the delight of those watching from the shores.

As the last of the sparkles died down, there was a further delay of several minutes before the drones could be seen glowing blue in the sky.

The drones appeared to be attempting to form the image of an American Flag, but before the image could fully form, the drones began falling from the sky.

Many of the confused onlookers first thought the “dripping” effect of the falling drones was part of the show. However, as more and more drones began to fall, it became clear the show was a technical failure.

It is estimated that the drone show cost the city $40,000. According to Hill, that is twice the amount typically spent on the traditional fireworks show. It is unknown at this time if the City will get any kind of refund for the debacle.

Community members have expressed gratitude to the Angle Lake Shore Club for taking the initiative to plan their privately funded show.

One resident posted to the SeaTac Community Facebook Group:

“Angle Lake Shore Club saves the day with a PRIVATLEY FUNDED AWESOME FIREWORKS display.”

“It’s a good thing the Shore Club did do their show,” Fuzz Hill said. “After people waited 8 hours in the park for a show, we probably avoided a lot of dissatisfaction. Maybe even a riot,” he adds with a laugh.

Despite the disjointed nature of this year’s display, Hill has hope for the future.

“Hopefully the City will reconsider the drone show and come back to a private partnership with the Shore Club and put on a great fireworks show.”

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Below is video of the drone show courtesy Matt Markovich:

City Releases Statement

The City of SeaTac released a statement on Friday, July 5, 2024 in response to the drone show failure, which resulted in 55 out of 200 drones being lost.

Great Lakes Drone Company Owner and CEO, Mathew Quinn, explained that a sudden loss of GPS signal caused the drones to enter a failsafe landing mode. Despite efforts to return the drones to their takeoff location, several drones lost their GPS signals entirely. The cause of the malfunction remains unknown and is under investigation by the flight team and authorities. No internal system or drone issues were found in the flight logs.

The drone show ended early, with no reported injuries, and was immediately followed by a fireworks display put on by the Angle Lake Shore Club.

The full text of the statement from Great Lakes Drone Company follows:

“The City of SeaTac’s 2024 Family Fourth of July celebration offered many successful festivities, including live entertainment, safe swimming supervised by a team of lifeguards, free kids’ activities, and more: with thousands of residents and visitors enjoying the holiday at Angle Lake Park.

“The new drone show ran into a technical glitch, which rendered several dozen of the drones inoperable. The drone light show vendor, who has been professionally operating drone shows nationwide since 2016, is currently reviewing what caused the glitch. He believes the cause was outside of the drone operator’s control. In total, the vendor lost 55 of 200 drones.

“Statement offered by Great Lakes Drone Company Owner and CEO, Mathew Quinn:

“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.”

“The drone show was forced to end early. There were no reported injuries. It was immediately followed by the fireworks extravaganza.”

And below are photos from the event, courtesy Peter Kwon:

Courtesy Fuzz Hill is this video of a live recording he shot of the Angle Lake Shore Club’s fireworks show:

Alia Sinclair is a writer residing in SeaTac. She is passionate about the arts and connecting people through the written word, and is the founder and editor-in-chief of Patchwork Mosaic magazine for creatives.