Strong winds have been blamed for more than 400 drones falling from the sky into Melbourne’s Yarra River during a light show celebrating the Matildas before the Women’s World Cup. The light show, using 500 Damoda drones, was scheduled for the evening of 14 July 2023 over the river in Docklands, in Melbourne’s CBD. 1:00 More than 400 drones fall into Yarra River during Women's World Cup light show – videoShortly after, pilots lost connection to the drones and they began colliding with each other, the ATSB chief commissioner, Angus Mitchell, noted in the report. The remote pilot attempted to return the drones to the launch site individually, but 427 of the 500 drones were lost, the majority falling into the Yarra. “This incident demonstrates the importance of drone pilots being familiar with all functionality and data provided by relevant ground control software,” Mitchell said.