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Two Amazon delivery drones crashed in Arizona on Wednesday, prompting investigations from federal authorities. Here’s what we know.
Just before 10 a.m. local time, two WK30 drones, owned by Amazon, collided into a stationary crane, one shortly after the other. The drones burst into flame once on the ground. According to incident reports from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration, damage to the drones was “substantial,” but nobody was harmed. The Tolleson police and fire departments, together with Avondale fire crews responded, KGNS reported.
“Safety is our top priority, and we’ve completed our own internal review of this incident and are confident that there wasn’t an issue with the drones or the technology that supports them,” Amazon spokesperson Terrence Clark said in a statement.
He also said the company has gone ahead and introduced processes such as “enhanced visual landscape inspections to better monitor for moving obstructions such as cranes.”
Amazon paused drone deliveries, but Clark confirmed they resumed Friday.
In May of last year, Amazon won approval from the FAA to operate Amazon Air drones beyond the visual line of sight of an operator, which required the company to develop onboard “detect-and-avoid technology.” That milestone was crucial in pushing the e-commerce giant further along its goal to deliver 500 million packages per year by 2030.
Amazon previously paused its drone program after two of its drones crashed in rainy conditions during test flights at its Oregon facility in December, Bloomberg reported. It resumed months later after Amazon fixed a sensor issue, CNBC reported. Bloomberg also noted a separate incident when a pilot mistakenly caused a mid-air collision of two drones at the testing facility.
Competitor Wing, which is owned by Alphabet, delivers in Virginia, Texas, and abroad and has completed more than 500,000 residential deliveries worldwide. One Wing drone in particular made headlines in 2022 when it crashed into a powerline in Brisbane, Australia, leaving some 2,000 people without power, The Verge reported.
Another major competitor is Zipline, which says on its site it has completed more than 1.4 million deliveries to customers, and flown more than 100 million autonomous miles.
Drone incidents like Amazon’s remain rare, and experts are researching ways to prevent collisions.
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Chloe Aiello
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