City of SeaTac answers questions about its 4th of July Drone Show debacle

As many are aware, the City of SeaTac’s highly anticipated 4th of July 2024 Drone Show at Angle Lake Park experienced a major malfunction, causing an early end to the display.

Despite the setback, a traditional fireworks display sponsored by the Angle Lake Shore Club proceeded as planned.

The city is currently working with the drone vendor, Great Lakes Drone Company, to investigate the cause of the glitch and recover the lost drones from Angle Lake.

On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, the City of SeaTac released the following FAQ regarding the Drone Show debacle:

Q: What happened on the Fourth of July 2024?

A: 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. Thousands of residents and visitors enjoyed the holiday at Angle Lake Park. The new drone show ran into a technical glitch which rendered 55 drones inoperable. The drone show was forced to end early. It was immediately followed by the fireworks extravaganza, sponsored this year by the Angle Lake Shore Club.

Q: Why did this happen?

A: The drone light show vendor, who has been professionally operating drone shows nationwide since 2016, is currently reviewing what caused the glitch. He and his team believe the cause was outside of the drone operator’s control. According to the vendor, Mathew Quinn from Great Lake Drone Company, “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.”

Q: Were there any injuries?

A: There were no reported injuries. Small drones just floated directly down into the lake.

Q: What happened to the drones?

A: In total, the vendor lost 55 of 200 drones. Since they landed in the water, they are inoperable.

Q: Is it true that the reason why the City of SeaTac will no longer be doing fireworks on Fourth of July is because of a complaint/potential lawsuit by a resident?

A: No complaints or potential lawsuits have been sent to the City regarding the Fourth of July Fireworks show. The City of SeaTac has decided to transform our popular Fourth of July Fireworks Show from a low explosive pyrotechnic show utilizing live mortars to a leading-edge professional drone light show for multiple reasons.

EDITOR’S NOTE: As we previously reported, the reason the City canceled its traditional 4th of July fireworks show is because a resident who lives near Angle Lake complained and cited a 1932 court ruling.

Q: What are the reasons the City decided to make the change to the Fourth of July event?

A: The change in the fireworks show was inspired by a question from a resident about whether boat racing is allowed on the lake. The City began investigating this question and through due diligence determined the lake is non-navigable. *See Washington State Supreme Court Ruling below for more information about this designation.

Q: What are the reasons for switching from fireworks to drones?

A: There are many reasons for introducing drone light shows to holiday celebrations. In fact, it is a practice that many cities and countries around the world have recently implemented based on the following considerations:

• Air and noise pollution– Drones are reusable, and with fireworks, you have smoke and loud explosive noises which can stress out birds, animals and potentially trigger those suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. For persons with asthma or multiple chemical sensitivity, the smoke from fireworks may aggravate existing health problems

• Toxic chemicals and plastics – Fireworks produce other fallout like debris. When fireworks explode in the air, heavy metals, sulfur-coal compounds, and some low concentration toxic chemicals such as plastics along with other particles are released and drift to the ground where they may never decompose. These particles contain residues of unburnt propellants, along with metal by-products from the colorants which can threaten wildlife if accidentally ingested.

• Potential danger to staff and community – A safety perimeter needs to be put in place to safely load a barge full of pyrotechnics, Previously, the fireworks were loaded at a property which was the home of a residential community. That property has been sold, so the loading of the barge of pyrotechnics would need to occur at the Angle Lake Park boat launch. This would require the shutting down of the shoreline and several hundred feet up from the shore for the entire day. Last year, the City tracked 8,000 people at the Fourth of July event. The safety permit would severely limit the number of people at the park and cut off access to the shore on our busiest day of the year.

• *Washington State Supreme Court Ruling – A question was raised by a resident about ownership of Angle Lake and uses on the lake. The Washington Supreme Court has determined that Angle Lake is a non-navigable body of water thus making the lake private property. That determination allows property owners around the lake, including the City, the right to boat, swim, and fish if it does not reasonably interfere with the similar rights of other owners around the lake. As a property owner around the lake, the City is required to look after the public’s general welfare which would include safety and the general public’s access to utilize the lake.

Q: Did the Angle Lake Shore Club get permission for the fireworks show?

A: Yes, they filed for a permit to host fireworks display at the east end of the lake at 10:10 p.m. on the July 4, 2024.

Q: Did the drone company file a permit for permission to conduct the drone show?

A: Yes, the Great Lakes Drone Company filed all the necessary permitting required and alerted the proper authorities about the show in advance, in accordance with the FAA drone rules and regulations.

Q: Did the City vet the drone company in advance and sign a contract?

A: Yes, the City of SeaTac signed a contract with Great Lakes Drone Company on June 5, 2024, after review of the company’s experience with prior shows nationwide.

Q: How many shows has this drone company done? How many years have they been in business?

A: According to Dronelife.com, Great Lakes Drone Company conducts 150 to 200 drone light shows annually across the country. The company website states that they have been in business since 2016, and that it is a well-known drone show company in the United States.

Q: Who pays for this financial loss? Will the City get a refund for the drone show?

A: At this time, we are communicating with the vendor to come to a mutually acceptable financial arrangement. The City will keep the public informed on progress and conclusion, after all investigations have been conducted.

Q: What are the next steps?

#1 – The City Parks and Recreation Department is connecting the drone vendor and volunteer rescue divers to schedule a time they can pull the lost drones from the lake as soon as possible. This group of drivers have volunteered on multiple occasions to successfully clean the bottom of Angle Lake.

#2 – The other next step for the City is to work with our drone vendor and see if they can determine the cause of the technical glitch.

Q: What are the plans now for the Fourth of July next year?

A: As with all large-scale City events, Parks and Recreation staff will meet to conduct a post-event analysis where they will discuss what went well and what can be improved for next year’s Fourth of July Celebration. It’s important to note the City has an entire year until the 2025 event. The Parks and Recreation staff will be diligent in their assessment to ensure they have the best plan in place for next year’s event.