BOSTON – The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a drone being used for TNT’s pregame coverage crashed during a Boston Celtics opening night watch party at City Hall Plaza, injuring two people.
TNT pregame drone crash
It happened just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday.
The drone was filming a musical act during the TNT American Express Road Show. Shaboozey was among the artists who performed during the network’s pregame show. The show led into the Celtics receiving their championship rings and raising the 18th championship banner in franchise history at TD Garden.
Shortly after the incident, a Boston police spokesperson told WBZ-TV that three people were hurt by the falling drone. In a police report released Wednesday, police said two people were hurt.
According to the police report, the drone operator was flying the device between two trees and accidentally hit a light pole. The drone crashed and landed in the crowd.
One of the victims was “bleeding heavily” from his right hand, Boston police said. The second person said she felt “significant pain” on her head, neck, and left shoulder.
Derek Scrima from Arlington said the drone cut his hand. “It was like a mini panic attack,” Scrima told WBZ-TV. “I was like this is crazy.”
FAA investigating fallen drone
Police said the drone is owned by CNN and was being operated by one of the broadcast company’s employees. Both TNT and CNN are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.
The CNN employee has an FAA remote operator license, police said. In a statement to WBZ-TV, the FAA only said that it is investigating the incident.
A spokesman for TNT events released a statement Tuesday night.
“Unfortunately, there was an incident involving a drone and fans attending tonight’s event,” the spokesman said. “On-site medical and safety personnel immediately attended to the situation. We are currently investigating further and wish all involved well.”
Drone instructor on crash
“You’re required to have a Part 107 remote pilot license,” said Chris Rudolph, a DARTdrones instructor and pilot.
Rudolph explained to WBZ that in order to fly over a large crowd of people, the company likely had to get a special waiver from the FAA, have extra eyes on hand, plus, report the incident immediately.
“We know we’ve got an area of trees, or utility poles, power lines things like that that could be a factor in our flight that we can’t see that well from our vantage point, that’s a location where we would want to make sure that we have visual observers,” Rudolph said.