Amazon’s Prime Air delivery drones can’t catch a break. The company’s automated delivery service has once again run into problems — literally this time — as two of the drones have crashed into a cable hanging from a crane, which caused both to crash to the ground.
In response, the company has already paused drone-based deliveries in Phoenix’s West Valley where the pair crashed. Reports say that the drones crashed around 10 a.m. local time roughly two miles from a local Amazon drone distribution center. One witness, a diesel mechanic named Gabriel Dahlberg, told KPNX 12 News that the drone had clipped one of the cables they use to move equipment that hangs from the crane.
The drones were flying back to back when they crashed into the crane cable, with each landing roughly 100 to 200 feet from the other in nearby parking lots. While local fire and police departments responded to the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also responded, saying it will investigate the crashes with Amazon’s full cooperation.
Another setback for Amazon
Amazon has been running its drone delivery service for a few years now, with its MK30 drones capable of carrying deliveries of up to five pounds. It took them almost a decade to get the program up and running at all, with the drones meant to deliver some items as quickly as up to one hour after the order is placed.
The company hasn’t said how long it will keep Prime Air paused, but this is the second time we have seen the drone service paused in the past year. Earlier this year, drone deliveries were paused for a short time in a Texas town due to noise complaints.
It’s also unclear how long the FAA’s investigation into the matter will take. Considering the cables responsible for the crash were hanging from the crane, it could be that a new software update is needed to help the cameras on the drones better detect obstacles like that. For now, anyone who orders deliveries in the area will need to rely on the old-fashioned method to get what they ordered.
