Amazon drones will not be making any deliveries for the foreseeable future. According to BloombergThe company suspended all commercial drone deliveries to Texas and Arizona after a previously undisclosed event in which two of Amazon’s MK30 drones crashed at the Pendleton, Oregon, airport it uses for testing. The MK30 is the company’s next-generation drone model, lighter and with a longer range than its predecessor, the MK27. The incidents took place in December, with one of the drones even catching fire after it fell. Amazon reportedly determined that its drones crashed due to a software issue related to light rain falling at the time of testing.
The company, however, said the accidents were not the “main reason” it was suspending its drone deliveries. Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson said Bloomberg that it is “currently making software changes to the drone” and that the operational pause is voluntary. Once the updates are complete, Amazon still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration before it can resume operations. “Drone site employees, 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 to see such incidents during testing and that they help the company improve the security of the service. Amazon has been sending non-medical shipments via drones to Texas since 2022 before adding prescription drugs a year later. In 2024, Amazon discontinued drone deliveries in California, but also launched the service in Phoenix, Arizona.
