{"id":"7d999941-3117-4fda-90e0-111a47764633","slug":"malfunction-2026-05-25-skymagic","kind":"malfunction","headline":"89 SkyMagic drones crashed into Sydney Harbour during Vivid Sydney light show due to radio frequency interference","summary":"During a Vivid Sydney festival drone light show on May 25, 2026, 89 SkyMagic drones fell from the sky into Cockle Bay at Darling Harbour after an unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment compromised their positional accuracy. 83 drones splashed into the water and 6 landed on boardwalks and a bridge. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) launched an investigation. SkyMagic stated all drones remained within safety boundaries and no spectators were injured.","occurredAt":"2026-05-25T12:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"unreviewed","modelId":null,"deploymentId":null,"companyId":"fa2b87d9-f08f-4c90-8a5a-3775b84448ec","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"moderate","rootCauseCategory":null,"rootCauseDetail":null,"affectedUnitsCount":null,"affectedUnitsBasis":null,"remediationStatus":null,"regulatoryAction":"inquiry_opened","regulatoryBody":"other","propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-03T17:33:24.486Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-03T17:33:24.486Z","model":null,"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"fa2b87d9-f08f-4c90-8a5a-3775b84448ec","name":"SkyMagic","slug":"skymagic","description":"SKYMAGIC is one of the world's leading drone light show companies, based in the UK, USA, and Singapore. The company produces large-scale outdoor drone light displays for entertainment events, including the UK's largest ever drone show over London. In May 2026, 89 SKYMAGIC drones crashed into Sydney's Darling Harbour during a Vivid Sydney performance, prompting an ATSB investigation.","status":null,"founded":null,"hq":"London, United Kingdom","fundingTotal":null,"type":"hardware","reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d330wqq2zo","title":"Vivid Sydney: Dozens of drones crash into Sydney harbour during light show glitch","sourceName":"BBC News"}],"keyFacts":[{"label":"Founder","value":"Hitomi Uematsu"},{"label":"Operations","value":"UK, USA, Singapore"},{"label":"Sydney crash","value":"89 drones, May 2026 (ATSB investigation)"}],"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"atsProvider":null,"atsSlug":null,"factoryLocations":null,"manufacturingCapacity":null,"orgType":null,"burnSignal":null,"litigationEvents":null,"insurancePostureDisclosed":null,"unitEconomicsDisclosed":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-03T17:33:17.081Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-03T17:34:28.402Z"},"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"6ba23321-4b6a-47ce-8239-4d6010dbc21f","incidentId":"7d999941-3117-4fda-90e0-111a47764633","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d330wqq2zo","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Vivid Sydney: Dozens of drones crash into Sydney harbour during light show glitch","sourceName":"BBC News","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-07-03T17:33:24.645Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-03T17:33:24.645Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[{"id":"f1e8d9aa-9776-487f-9955-4849056a25db","incidentId":"7d999941-3117-4fda-90e0-111a47764633","status":"active","reason":null,"source":"agent:depth","effectiveAt":"2026-07-03T17:33:24.799Z","createdAt":"2026-07-03T17:33:24.800Z"}],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/malfunction-2026-05-25-skymagic","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/malfunction-2026-05-25-skymagic","headline":"89 SkyMagic drones crashed into Sydney Harbour during Vivid Sydney light show due to radio frequency interference","description":"During a Vivid Sydney festival drone light show on May 25, 2026, 89 SkyMagic drones fell from the sky into Cockle Bay at Darling Harbour after an unforeseen change in the radio frequency environment compromised their positional accuracy. 83 drones splashed into the water and 6 landed on boardwalks and a bridge. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) launched an investigation. SkyMagic stated all drones remained within safety boundaries and no spectators were injured.","identifier":"7d999941-3117-4fda-90e0-111a47764633","datePublished":"2026-05-25T12:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"malfunction","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"unreviewed","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":1,"primary_source_types":[]}}}