Progress on Prime Air Halted After Two Drone Collision Incidents

Amazon put a temporary stop to testing its drone delivery program, Prime Air, in Texas and Arizona on January 17. The decision follows two drone incidents in late 2024.

In September 2024, the company’s drone operators were simulating how drones would perform when one of the propellers failed and unintentionally launched two test flights at once, causing the pair of drones to collide. Just a few months later, in December, two other Amazon drones crashed into each other. The weather at the test facility, located in Pendleton, Oregon, was reportedly rainy when the incident occurred.

These incidents are just part of the mounting pile of issues for Prime Air. Amazon paused the program again back in April before it rolled out in Lockeford, California in order to "prioritize our resources to continue growing the program." The program has also had several executives evacuate their positions, including its director of safety, flight operations, and regulatory affairs Sean Cassidy.

Another major issue that Amazon is working through is costs. In 2022, leaked internal documents showed that it could cost the company up to $63 by 2025 to complete a single delivery.

The collisions were "not the primary reason for our voluntary operational pause,” explained Amazon spokesperson Sam Stephenson. "Prime Air continued to deliver to customers safely and within federal compliance until we voluntarily paused the service on Jan. 17.”

The pause will affect Amazon’s commercial drone operations in both Texas and Arizona at least until its fleet of MK30 drones has undergone “critical software updates,” it stated. The MK30 was developed by Amazon to fly quieter, farther, and in less favorable conditions than its predecessor, the MK27. It has a 15-mile range and can deliver packages weighing up to 5 pounds.

Amazon ambitiously debuted its Prime Air program with the goal of using drones to deliver 500 million packages by 2030. The FAA granted it a beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) waiver in May, giving it greater flexibility for deliveries. The UK recently followed suit, allowing Amazon to begin integrating drone deliveries into its European operations.

FMI: www.amazon.jobs/content/en/teams/e-commerce-foundation/prime-air