Amazon Delivery Drones Involved in Arizona Crane Crash, Feds Look Into It

Amazon’s drone delivery program is under scrutiny again after two of its delivery drones crashed earlier this week in Arizona.

On Wednesday morning, two MK30 drones fell to the ground in Tolleson, Arizona, a city west of Phoenix, after colliding with the boom of a construction crane.

The drones were reportedly on their way back to an Amazon warehouse when they hit the crane. The drones caught on fire after the crash and sustained “substantial” damage, according to a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

No one was seriously injured, though one person was examined for smoke inhalation, CNBC reported. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are now reportedly investigating the incident. The NTSB confirmed the probe in a post on X.

The agencies did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s requests for comment.

Amazon temporarily paused drone deliveries in Tolleson after the accident but said it has since resumed service and it’s supporting “ongoing reviews by relevant agencies.”

“Safety is our top priority, and we’ve completed our own internal review of this incident and are confident that there wasn’t an issue with the drones or the technology that supports them,” Amazon spokesperson Terrence Clark told Gizmodo in an emailed statement. “Nonetheless, we’ve introduced additional processes like enhanced visual landscape inspections to better monitor for moving obstructions such as cranes.”

This isn’t the first time this year Amazon has had to pause drone deliveries. In January, the company temporarily suspended operations in Arizona and Texas, following two crashes at its Oregon test site. Those incidents also led to FAA and NTSB investigations. Amazon resumed deliveries in March, saying it had resolved software issues with the drones.

Jeff Bezos has been pushing the idea of drone delivery for more than a decade. Back in 2013, he first revealed that Amazon was developing a program with the goal of getting packages to customers’ doorsteps in 30 minutes or less. At the time, Bezos said he expected it to be up and running within four to five years.

It took way longer than that, but Amazon eventually launched Prime Air in College Station, Texas, before expanding to the Phoenix metro area in late 2024.

Today, the service can deliver around 60,000 different items (all under five pounds) in under an hour. Customers in eligible cities just need to select drone delivery at checkout and pick a drop-off spot like their driveway or backyard. Once a drone arrives, it descends to about 13 feet above the ground—low enough to safely release a package, but high enough to avoid people, cars, or pets.

Amazon has said it plans to expand Prime Air to more U.S. cities as well as to Italy and the U.K.