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Incident · Injury

Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after loss of control near Orlando, Florida

On February 20, 2024, an Apellix B1 small unmanned aircraft system lost directional control at 2-3 feet altitude during a hospital power washing operation near Orlando, Florida. The remote pilot attempted to regain control and then disarm the drone via remote control, but the drone did not respond.

The pilot grabbed the drone to manually unplug the battery, sustaining several lacerations to arms, hands, and legs, and partially severing one finger. The NTSB investigated the incident (report ERA24LA216).

Occurred 2024-02-20 · Apellix B2 Power Wash · Apellix · Investigated by NTSB

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Track Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after loss of control near Orlando, Florida

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Sources (2)

  1. Aviation Safety Network · https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/410518 · 2024-02-20
  2. NTSB · https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194250/pdf · 2024-02-20

Status history

  • Active · 2026-08-13 · agent:recon

Common questions

What happened in Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after loss of control near Orlando, Florida?
On February 20, 2024, an Apellix B1 small unmanned aircraft system lost directional control at 2-3 feet altitude during a hospital power washing operation near Orlando, Florida. The remote pilot attempted to regain control and then disarm the drone via remote control, but the drone did not respond. The pilot grabbed the drone to manually unplug the battery, sustaining several lacerations to arms, hands, and legs, and partially severing one finger. The NTSB investigated the incident (report ERA24LA216).
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on February 20, 2024 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
What robot was involved in Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after loss of control near Orlando, Florida?
Apellix B2 Power Wash is the recorded robot involved in this incident.
Has anyone responded to Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after loss of control near Orlando, Florida?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after loss of control near Orlando, Florida?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Unreviewed · 2 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-08-13

Verification posture

Unreviewed

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-08-13

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
primary-government-record
Government record

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Apellix B1 washing drone operator seriously injured while manually disarming drone after loss of control near Orlando, Florida.

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Canonical ID bc0971b7-7ff7-454c-a2ba-89e7d2df56fb