Amazon halts drone deliveries after two crashes

Amazon’s drones will not be making any deliveries for the foreseeable future. according to BloombergThe company has temporarily halted all commercial drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona after a previously undisclosed event in which two Amazon MK30 drones crashed at the Pendleton, Oregon, airport the company uses for testing. MK30 It is the company’s next-generation drone model, and is lighter and has a longer range than its predecessor, the MK27. These incidents occurred in December, where one of the drones caught fire after crashing. Amazon has reportedly determined that its drones crashed due to a software issue related to light rain that fell while the tests were being conducted.

However, the company said these incidents were not the “main reason” behind suspending drone deliveries. Amazon spokesman Sam Stephenson said Bloomberg It is “currently in the process of making software changes to the drone” and that the operational downtime is voluntary. After the updates are complete, Amazon still must obtain approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before it can resume operations. Stephenson added: “Employees at the drone sites, who were reported to work on Friday, will continue to be paid during the downtime.”

In addition to the two incidents in December, two MK30 drones collided during another test a few months ago. Stevenson explained that Amazon expects to see such incidents during testing and that it helps the company improve the safety of the service. Amazon has been sending non-medical shipments via drone in Texas since 2022 Add a prescription A year later. In 2024, Amazon halted drone deliveries in California, but it also did so Fired Service in Phoenix, Arizona.