GPS problems cause 55 drones to sink into the drink at July Fourth show in Seattle suburb

A July Fourth drone show in the Seattle metropolitan area was hampered when 55 of 200 unmanned aircraft lost their GPS signals and fell into Angle Lake.

Therefore, the drone show ended early. SeaTac officials said in a release that no injuries were reported, and fireworks went off afterward.

The Great Lakes Drone Co. show was the first put on by the city, named by a combination of Seattle and Tacoma.

The company's CEO, Matthew Quinn, said in a statement, “The drone light show performance experienced a sudden loss of GPS signal on several drones, causing them to go into a failsafe landing mode.”

At that point, the drone pilot moved to stop the show and return the drones to where they took off. However, Mr. Quinn explained, more drones lost their GPS signals and dropped into the lake.

“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,” Mr. Quinn said.

The drone show cost SeaTac about $40,000, according to Seattle CBS affiliate KIRO-TV.