Amazon Removed Backup Landing Sensor Before Drone Crashes

Amazon’s Delivery Drones Are Crashing, and We Finally Know Why

Amazon, the multi-trillion dollar e-commerce monolith, seemingly cheaped out on on a key feature installed on its six-propeller delivery drones. Predictably, this backfired almost immediately. On a (lightly) rainy December day at the company's testing range in Oregon, not one but two Prime Air drones suddenly stopped spinning their propellers mid-flight and plummeted some 200 feet to the ground. The crashes, which destroyed both aircraft, happen…

Amazon delivery drones crashed during test flight after safety sensor removed: report

Amazon’s cutting-edge delivery drones fell from the sky during a December test flight after a software update made them vulnerable to rain.

Amazon Removed Backup Landing Sensor Before Drone Crashes

Retaining the technology could have prevented the aircraft from accidentally shutting off their propellers midflight and plummeting to the ground.

Amazon’s state-of-the-art delivery drones were reported to have fallen from the sky during a test flight in December after a software update made them vulnerable to rain. A preventable incident that worsened due to the company’s decision to remove a critical safety sensor, according to a report. Amazon’s two MK30 drone accidents in Oregon occurred with only minutes of difference on December 16, when both aircraft went abruptly off in the air at …

Why Amazon’s MK30 Drones Crashed: Sensor Issues Exposed

On May 16, 2025, Bloomberg reported a significant setback for Amazon‘s Prime Air drone delivery program, as the company paused operations following two crashes of its MK30 delivery drones in December 2024. The incidents, attributed to faulty LiDAR sensors, have raised concerns among drone professionals and enthusiasts about the reliability of Amazon’s latest unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and the broader implications for commercial drone delivery…