Oct. 3 (UPI) — Two Amazon drones collided with a crane earlier this week, prompting the online behemoth on Thursday to momentarily suspend deliveries by unmanned aerial vehicles in the Copper State.
The two MK30 drones collided with the boom of a crane in Tolleson, Ariz., located just west of Phoenix, at around 10 a.m. MST Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The FAA added it was investigating the incident.
Amazon has been conducting deliveries by drones in the United States since 2022. An Amazon drone delivery center opened in Tolleson in late April.
Terrence Clark, an Amazon spokesperson, told CNN that they would resume drone delivery to Tolleson on Friday.
“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,” Clark said.
“Nonetheless, we’ve introduced additional processes like enhanced visual landscape inspections to better monitor for moving obstructions such as cranes.”
According to Amazon’s website, the MK30 drone received FAA approval to conduct deliveries. It uses a “sophisticated” on-board detect-and-avoid system, it said.
