Amazon suspends its drone deliveries after two crash incidents
Amazon’s drones won’t be making deliveries any time soon. Accordingly BloombergThe company has suspended all commercial drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona following a previously unknown incident in which two of Amazon’s MK30 drones crashed at its test airport in Pendleton, Oregon. MK30 is the company’s next-generation drone model, which is lighter and has a longer range than its predecessor, the MK27. The incidents occurred in December, with one of the drones even catching fire after the crash. Amazon has reportedly discovered that its drones crashed due to a software issue related to the light drizzle at the time of testing.
However, the company said the crashes were not the “main reason” it was suspending its drone deliveries. Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson said Bloomberg that it is “currently in the process of making software changes to the drone” and that the operational pause is voluntary. After the updates are completed, Amazon will still need to obtain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before it can resume operations. “Employees at the drone sites who were notified of the action on Friday will continue to be paid during the pause,” Stephenson added.
In addition to the December crashes, two MK30 drones collided during another test a few months earlier. Stephenson explained that Amazon expects incidents like these during testing and that they help the company improve the security of the service. Amazon has been sending non-medical shipments by drone in Texas since 2022 Adding prescription medications a year later. In 2024, Amazon stopped drone deliveries in California, but also that started the service in Phoenix, Arizona.
