Amazon To Resume Drone Delivery Following Crash In Arizona

Amazon will restart its drone transportation work successful Arizona opening Friday arsenic 2 national agencies proceed to analyse a clang that occurred earlier this week.

Amazon suspended operations successful nan West Valley of nan Phoenix Metro area — presently its only commercialized marketplace — pursuing a clang Wednesday. Two of nan company’s Prime Air transportation drones collided pinch nan roar of a crane adjacent its same-day tract successful Tolleson, Arizona, which sent them crashing to nan ground.

Amazon has been delivering packages, weighing up to 5 pounds, to customers via its Prime Air drone work successful nan West Valley of Phoenix since November 2024.

Amazon spokesperson Terrence Clark said nan institution will proceed to support “ongoing reviews by applicable agencies.” The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday that investigations into nan clang are underway.

“Safety is our apical priority, and we’ve completed our ain soul reappraisal of this incident and are assured that location wasn’t an rumor pinch nan drones aliases nan exertion that supports them,” Clark said successful an emailed statement. “Nonetheless, we’ve introduced further processes for illustration enhanced ocular scenery inspections to amended show for moving obstructions specified arsenic cranes.”

The programme has faced respective setbacks complete nan years, including the departure of cardinal executives, arsenic nan institution pushes towards its extremity of utilizing drones to present 500 cardinal packages per twelvemonth by nan extremity of nan decade.

Amazon halted testing of its drones aft a mid-air collision involving 2 of its models successful Oregon successful December 2024. At nan time, Amazon said it would suspend drone deliveries successful College Station, Texas and Arizona pending a package update to its drone fleet. Amazon nary longer has operations successful College Station.

Amazon has besides scored a triumph aliases two, including receiving support from nan U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to fly its transportation drones longer distances. That support successful May 2024 removed 1 regulatory hurdle, allowing Amazon to grow its Prime Air service. Amazon has antecedently said it planned to grow Prime Air transportation services successful Texas successful Richardson, San Antonio, and Waco, and crossed nan state pinch sites planned for Detroit and Kansas City.