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Incident · Malfunction

Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site

On Dec 16 2024 two Amazon Prime Air MK30 drones crashed within four minutes (from ~217 ft and ~183 ft) at an Oregon test facility; the LiDAR misread light rain as the ground and cut propeller power (the MK30 had removed the MK27's squat-switch redundancy). FAA approved a software fix Mar 12 2025; Amazon paused US operations in Jan 2025; an NTSB investigation was reported.

Occurred 2024-12-16 · Amazon Astro at Seattle · Amazon · Seattle · Smart home · Investigated by FAA

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Incident records on DEPLOY are compiled from public sources (regulatory filings, news reports, and operator disclosures) and reflect what has been reported and tracked to date. They are not legal findings, determinations of fault, or safety ratings, and may be updated as new information is verified. See the sources below for the underlying references.
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Machine-readable surfaces

Outcomes (1)

  • property damageverified

Revision history (1)

  • 2026-06-05 · outcome_class

Outcome rows carry verification_posture independently. Revision events carry basis (verified_court_filing, verified_insurance, reported_press, estimate, undisclosed). The framework records outcomes only when verifiable; absence is honest absence, not a claim of no-impact.

Sources (2)

  1. DroneXL · https://dronexl.co/2025/05/16/why-amazon-mk30-drones-crashed-sensor-issues-exposed/
  2. https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/community_engagement/uas_incident_reports

Common questions

What happened in Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site?
On Dec 16 2024 two Amazon Prime Air MK30 drones crashed within four minutes (from ~217 ft and ~183 ft) at an Oregon test facility; the LiDAR misread light rain as the ground and cut propeller power (the MK30 had removed the MK27's squat-switch redundancy). FAA approved a software fix Mar 12 2025; Amazon paused US operations in Jan 2025; an NTSB investigation was reported.
When did this incident occur?
The incident is recorded as occurring on December 16, 2024 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.
What robot was involved in Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site?
Amazon Astro by Amazon is the recorded robot involved in this incident at Seattle.
Has anyone responded to Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site?
No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.
What is the current status of Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site?
This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-21

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-21

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source
1
primary-regulatory-filing
Regulatory filing

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site.

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