Amazon – which started its drone delivery service in 2022 – has temporarily put a break on the same after its latest drone models reportedly crashed in the facility. According to a report from Bloomberg, the e-commerce giant has paused all commercial drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona. The decision comes following the two latest MK30 drones crashing at Pendleton while testing in rainy weather. Notably, Amazon has established a test site in Pendleton, Oregon to test drone flights for package delivery purposes.
With six rotors, the MK30 is Amazon’s next-gen drone model. This latest version is not just lighter in weight but also able to serve a longer range than its predecessor, the MK27. In addition to this, MK30 drone models are designed for higher temperature tolerance and also can fly in light rain.
The crash incidents occurred last month in December 2024. As per the report, at the time of the flights, the weather was rainy, and during the test, two MK30 drones witnessed crashes. In fact, one drone even caught fire after falling at the testing site.
Meanwhile, Amazon cited a software issue as the reason behind these crashes. However, the company told the publication that crashes are not the primary reason that forced it to halt drone delivery operations. The company clarified that it has voluntarily decided to pause the operation for a while as software changes are still in process.
While the company will continue to pay the drone delivery department staff during the pause, the restart of service is still not going to be smooth. Actually, Amazon has to obtain approval from the private flight regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration, before resuming drone delivery operations. Notably, this is not the first time Amazon has witnessed a mishap regarding drones. Earlier to this incident, two MK30 drones had collided during another test.
Amazon – which also started selling cars on its platform in the US – claims to have delivered thousands of items to customers via drone deliveries since the launch. Not only that but at one time, Amazon was planning to deliver over 500 million packages via drone deliveries by 2030. For now, the latest move will affect Prime Air customers – particularly in Texas and Arizona – until the company implements major software updates across its drone fleet. Amazon is aiming to gain an edge in this market as the drone package delivery market size is projected to grow from $0.69 billion in 2024 to $4.67 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 37.4%.
