Portela, a samba school in Rio de Janeiro, used a “superdrone” as part of the attractions during the Carnival parade, on Sunday (15). The appeal caused Anac (National Civil Aviation Agency) to ask the association and Liesa (Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro) for explanations about the use of the device.
The job was due to the fact that the school used a manned drone, which took a member of the scenic group for a 40-second flyover on an allegorical tripod and the other dancers.
Following the repercussions of the case, the CNN Brazil separated the main rules for using equipment in large events. Understand below:
Prohibition of transporting people
According to the Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulation 94 (RBAC-E nº 94), the transport of people, animals or dangerous articles in drones is expressly prohibited in Brazil.
The equipment used by Portela, a robust drone with eight propellers and high-power batteries, transported a member representing “Negrinho do Pastoreio”, which violated the norm.
Minimum safe distance
In relation to the protection of the public, the legislation makes it clear that a horizontal distance of at least 30 meters between the drone and structures or people that can be achieved.
The agency also said that the event with the device presents risk of accidents, including fatal ones. For the organ, under no circumstances the pilot can put lives at risk.
Records and identifications
For the operation to run within the laws, especially with large models, the legislation requires proof of registration with Anac, detailed identification of the device, such as model and serial numberand complete information about who operates communication externally.
Anac made requests for the information to be provided by those involved.
Understand Portela’s “superdrone”
The equipment used by Portela in its front commission is a robust drone, much more powerful than traditional drones. There are several special batteries in the device, which last a maximum of five minutes. After the flight, the dancer and the drone returned to the float tripod, where the batteries were recharged.
The choreography of a commission is performed several times throughout the parade, including in front of the different jury towers spread across Avenida da Marquês de Sapucaí. The “superdrone”, which has eight propellers, was activated four times for manned flightand was part of the theatrical concept of the school’s presentation.
The crew member who flew the Portela drone represented Negrinho do Pastoreio, a character from a famous legend of Gaucho culture, who frees himself during the “enchanted flight”. This year’s Porto plot was the existing blackness in Rio Grande do Sul and important symbols of resistance of this group in the state, such as the Candomblé religious leader Príncipe Custódio, a renowned pai-de-santo in Porto Alegre.
To tell its plot, the group used characters such as Negrinho do Pastoreio himself and the orixá Bará. The “liberation” represented in the flyover is the result of Gaucho folklore. In the legend, a black boy was taking care of a group of horses on the farm where he was enslaved, when one of the animals disappeared. The boy took the blame and received harsh punishments, being left in an anthill to suffer – the ant scene was also portrayed in the front commission.
He survives and is seen healed from his wounds alongside the Virgin Mary, as the horse returns. Negrinho do Pastoreio, according to legend, disappears and becomes an “enchanted” figure. In Gaucho culture, he is invoked to help find lost objects, just like Saint Longuinho in the Catholic tradition. Portela’s idea was to “free” Negrinho from this “eternal work”, in addition to exposing what violence was like during slavery in southern Brazil.
*Under the supervision of Tonny Aranha
