Joe Smith

Five UAS Skymagic X245 drones collided and fell into the River Thames during a nighttime light-show rehearsal near London Eye Pier on March 23, while two others descended out of control. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch attributed the incident to degraded positional accuracy, potentially caused by drones switching to a lower-accuracy positioning mode and an antenna being partially obscured. No one was injured, and the drones were not recovered. The operator subsequently raised the RTK antenna and introduced additional checks to ensure a stable, unobstructed signal before flights.

A 15-year-old boy was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle after suffering lower-body burns when petrol he was using accidentally caught fire in a field near the White Horse Pub in Darlington. Police described the incident as a tragic accident and said it was not being treated as criminal. The boy was in stable condition, with the North East Ambulance Service and Great North Air Ambulance Service providing emergency treatment.