We’re now learning more about the December crashes that forced Amazon to pause its drone delivery operations — and the details are eye-opening. According to a new Bloomberg report, a software update made Amazon’s MK30 drones vulnerable to rain, ultimately causing them to shut off mid-air after mistakenly thinking they had landed.
As DroneDJ previously reported, Amazon temporarily halted flights after two of its MK30 drones crashed just minutes apart on December 16 during test flights in Oregon. Both fell from more than 200 feet after their propellers stopped spinning in flight — a result of faulty altitude readings, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The crashes were traced to a software change that heightened the sensitivity of the drones’ LiDAR sensors. In rainy conditions, the sensors falsely reported that the drones were on the ground. As a result, the aircraft initiated an automatic landing shutdown while still airborne.
The NTSB told the New York Post the drones “erroneously determined they had touched down due to an incorrect altitude reading from a new software installation, which resulted in a loss of engine power.”
Bloomberg further reports that Amazon had removed “squat switches” — physical metal prongs used in earlier drones to confirm a landing — from the MK30 model. Without this hardware backup, the drones relied solely on software and sensor data to determine their position. Three people familiar with the crashes have told Bloomberg the absence of the switches likely contributed to the incident.
Amazon has disputed that conclusion.
“Bloomberg’s reporting is misleading,” company spokesperson Kate Kudrna tells the Post. “Statements that assume that replacing one system with another would have prevented an accident in the past is irresponsible.”
Kudrna adds that Amazon has since incorporated “multiple sensor inputs” to prevent similar errors and emphasized that the MK30 is both safer and more reliable than previous models. She also notes that the aircraft meets all FAA safety standards.
Still, the crashes were another setback for Amazon’s drone dreams, which date back to Jeff Bezos’s 2013 promise of 30-minute air deliveries. Over a decade later, those plans remain far from widespread reality.
Amazon has faced a string of challenges along the way — including a fiery 2021 crash in Pendleton, Oregon, and complaints about noise from earlier drones. The company told the Post that it hasn’t received any noise complaints since launching the quieter MK30.
After receiving FAA approval for new altitude-sensing systems, Amazon resumed test flights in March.
The MK30, which replaced the MK27, can deliver packages within a 7.5-mile radius and fly at speeds up to 67 mph. Unlike its predecessor, it relies solely on camera-based computer vision and software redundancy — a trend some critics say reflects the industry’s move toward lighter, software-centric designs at the expense of mechanical fail-safes.
For now, drone deliveries are still limited to College Station, Texas, and the Phoenix metro area, with more locations — including Kansas City, San Antonio, and international markets like the UK and Italy — on Amazon’s roadmap.
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