Ottawa video of a drone with fireworks goes viral

A drone outfitted with fireworks chases two men in Constance Bay, On. The video has gone viral. Source: YouTube / Andy Stewart

When grown men light something on fire and then immediately run away, chances are they’re up to something.

That’s what you can see Matt Trueman doing on a video shot this past March in Constance Bay in rural west Ottawa.

“It was silly,” says Trueman. “It was just having fun, being dumb.”

Trueman is seen lighting two roman candle fireworks taped to the bottom of an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone. The drone, with a camera mounted on it, then chases Trueman and his friend, Jason Stewart across the frozen bay firing sparks at them. The two are wearing nothing but shorts, shoes and sunglasses to make the video even more interesting.

Andy Stewart operates the drone as it fires sparks towards the other two. He has posted the video on his YouTube Channel.

And now it’s lighting up the internet.

As of this writing, the video had almost 1 million views on YouTube, and over 5 million views on Imgur.

“Between all the different videos that have been made bit it and everything else there’s over 10 million views,” says Trueman.

Part of the video’s appeal is in just how accurate the homemade “attack drone” is. At one point it scores a direct hit on a very surprised Jason Stewart, who described it like getting a bee sting. “I mean, it’s just duct taped onto it, you know? It’s not like we practised trying to shoot roman candles with drones,” he says.

The video has received plenty of support, and also a little criticism. At least one commenter on YouTube even sees it as a way to potentially get the use of drones banned.

A spokesperson for the Ottawa Police says it’s not an issue as long as there are no injuries or damage.

Transport Canada doesn’t appear to have any laws specifically prohibiting combining drones with fireworks providing all other rules for personal UAVs are followed. In a statement, it did say “using a UAV in a reckless and negligent manner could potentially cause damage, injuries, or fatalities, which can result in lawsuits, fines, and jail time.” The statement said Transport Canada is "looking into this incident."

Meanwhile, the three men do have a method to their madness. Going viral can make them money. “We've had this YouTube channel going for a while now and we've made a bit of money with it,” says Trueman. “And you know we're always looking for the next idea to try to make a bit of money with it just having fun.”

Who knows what they’ll come up with next?