Two of Amazon’s MK30 Prime Air delivery drones crashed into a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, on a Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently investigating the incident, though no injuries were reported. The FAA confirmed in a brief statement that “Two MK30 drones collided with the boom of a crane in Tolleson, Arizona, around 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Oct. 1.”
Details of the Collision
The crashes happened sequentially, back-to-back. An eyewitness reported to 12 News that the drones clipped the crane’s cable before plummeting to the ground. Tolleson police indicated that one drone fell within the same parking lot as the crane, while the second drone landed in an adjacent parking lot, approximately 100 to 200 feet away.
Both drones ignited after crashing, according to the FAA. Tolleson police, along with multiple fire crews, were dispatched to the scene. One person present was treated for smoke inhalation.
Amazon temporarily halted drone deliveries in Tolleson following the incident. However, the company stated that it would “resume drone delivery in Tolleson [on Friday] while continuing to support ongoing reviews by relevant agencies.” Amazon also asserted that it had completed its own internal review of the incident and was “confident that there wasn’t an issue with the drones or the technology that supports them.”
MK30 Technology and Prior Issues
The MK30 drone model was initially launched for service in both Tolleson, Arizona, and College Station, Texas, last November. At the time of the launch, Amazon highlighted the drone’s advanced capabilities, stating it could detect and navigate around various obstacles, including trampolines and clotheslines. The company also claimed the drone’s algorithm was specifically trained to “accurately identify objects like humans, animals, obstacles, and other aircraft.” Despite these technological assurances, multiple crashes of Amazon drones had previously been reported during tests in Texas, Oregon, and Arizona, which forced the company to temporarily suspend drone deliveries across the U.S. in January.
The Reality of Autonomous Delivery
Amazon’s quick determination that there was “not an issue with the drones or the technology” is a predictable, yet concerning, response to a public safety incident involving collisions and fire. While the company is eager to push forward with its delivery vision, the back-to-back crashes into a massive, static object like a crane, combined with previous reported testing failures, suggest a severe and potentially dangerous gap between the claimed autonomous capabilities and real-world execution. The incident raises serious doubts about the current reliability of the MK30’s obstacle detection systems and highlights the risks associated with deploying complex, flying robots in populated environments before they are truly fail-proof.
Featured image credit: Roboflow Universe
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