Amazon’s drones won’t be making any deliveries in the foreseeable future. In accordance with Bloombergthe company has temporarily suspended all commercial drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona after a previously undisclosed incident in which two Amazon MK30 drones crashed at the Pendleton, Oregon airport it was using for testing. The MK30 is the company’s next-gen drone model, lighter and with a longer range than its predecessor, the MK27. These incidents took place in December, and one of the helicopters caught fire after it crashed. Amazon has reportedly determined that its drones crashed due to a software problem linked to light rain during testing.
The company said, however, that the crash was not the “primary reason” why it stopped 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 suspension is voluntary. After the review is complete, Amazon still has to get approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before it can resume operations. “Drone operators, who were notified of the action on Friday, will continue to be paid during the suspension,” Stephenson added.
In addition to the accidents that happened in December, two MK30 drones collided in another test a few months ago. Stephenson explained that Amazon expects to see incidents like this during testing and that they help the company improve the security of the service. Amazon has been delivering non-medical goods via drones to Texas since 2022 before adding prescription medicine the following year. In 2024, Amazon stopped drone delivery in California, but also launched the service in Phoenix, Arizona.
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