{"id":"bf38fab0-bb03-4f5f-a0a3-13113a3a1535","slug":"wing-browns-plains-powerline-crash-2022","kind":"property_damage","headline":"Wing delivery drone came to rest on an 11kV power line, caught fire, and cut power to ~2,000 homes","summary":"On Sep 30 2022 in Browns Plains, Queensland, a Wing (Walmart-partner) delivery drone executed a precautionary controlled landing and came to rest on an overhead 11,000V line, igniting the aircraft and cutting power to ~2,000 homes (45 min) plus 300 homes (3 hrs). No injuries. Wing self-reviewed; the utility (Energex) handled the response; no government-regulator action cited. Australia (not FAA) jurisdiction.","occurredAt":"2022-09-30T12:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":"ff9f0766-05e0-4155-b6a5-531b42ae4da8","deploymentId":null,"companyId":"539e1395-5a7f-47bc-a296-e3d8edc9bd2f","aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"moderate","rootCauseCategory":"undetermined","rootCauseDetail":"Precautionary controlled landing ended on an 11kV line, igniting the aircraft and causing a mass outage; exact trigger not disclosed.","affectedUnitsCount":1,"affectedUnitsBasis":"exact","remediationStatus":"acknowledged","regulatoryAction":"none","regulatoryBody":"n/a","propertyDamageEstimateUsd":null,"damageEstimateBasis":null,"bodilyInjurySeverity":null,"fatalityCount":null,"lossCostClass":null,"sourceQualityTier":null,"oshaRecordable":null,"oshaCaseNumber":null,"rootCauseDisclosed":null,"publicDisclosureDate":null,"insuranceClaimPublic":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-04T21:33:28.422Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-24T23:33:41.852Z","model":{"id":"ff9f0766-05e0-4155-b6a5-531b42ae4da8","companyId":"539e1395-5a7f-47bc-a296-e3d8edc9bd2f","modelName":"Wing Delivery Aircraft","slug":"wing-delivery-aircraft","description":"Wing's fixed-wing/hover hybrid delivery drone that lowers packages by tether. The current generation carries about 2.5 lb (roughly 1.1 kg); a next-generation aircraft announced in 2024 roughly doubles payload to about 5 lb, part of Wing's multi-aircraft 'Aircraft Library' approach.","formFactor":"aerial","industryVertical":"logistics","environment":"airspace","maturityStage":"production","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"type":"fixed-wing/hover hybrid","range":"12 mi","method":"tethered lowering","max_speed":"65 mph","payload_kg":1.13,"payloadCurrent":"~2.5 lb (~1.1 kg)","payloadNextGen":"~5 lb"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://wing.com/walmart","title":"Wing aircraft and Walmart delivery (specs: up to ~2.5 lb cargo)","sourceName":"Wing (official)"},{"url":"https://www.flyingmag.com/how-its-delivered-wing-gives-us-a-glimpse-of-a-future-with-drone-delivery/","title":"How it's delivered: Wing's aircraft and delivery process","sourceName":"FLYING Magazine"},{"url":"https://dronedj.com/2024/01/17/wing-to-fly-new-delivery-drone-with-doubled-payload-capacity/","title":"Wing to fly new delivery drone with doubled (~5 lb) payload (Jan 17, 2024)","sourceName":"DroneDJ"},{"url":"https://wing.com/technology","title":"Wing Drone Technology","sourceName":"Wing (official)"}],"aliases":["Wing drone","Wing aircraft"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"keyFacts":[{"label":"Form factor","value":"aerial"},{"label":"Type","value":"fixed-wing/hover hybrid"},{"label":"Delivery method","value":"tethered lowering"},{"label":"Payload (current)","value":"~2.5 lb (~1.1 kg)"},{"label":"Payload (next generation)","value":"~5 lb"}],"createdAt":"2026-05-31T03:53:15.811Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-15T13:22:19.721Z","unitsInFieldClaimed":null,"unitsInFieldVerified":null,"unitsManufacturedClaimed":null,"unitsManufacturedVerified":null,"unitsAsOf":null,"unitsSource":null,"salesModel":null,"priceUndisclosedSince":null,"autonomyClass":null,"autonomyStatement":null,"autonomyStatementSource":null,"demoForensics":null,"exportControlClass":null,"minCommitment":null,"warrantyTerms":null,"serviceModel":null,"productionRateClaimed":null,"productionRateEvidenced":null,"teleopRatioDisclosed":null,"interventionRateDisclosed":null},"deployment":null,"company":{"id":"539e1395-5a7f-47bc-a296-e3d8edc9bd2f","name":"Wing","slug":"wing","description":"Drone delivery company and Alphabet subsidiary. Originated as a Google X moonshot (Project Wing, 2012) and graduated to an independent Alphabet company in 2018. Operates commercial autonomous drone delivery in the US (including the Dallas-Fort Worth metro via a Walmart partnership), Australia, and Europe, with 450,000+ deliveries reported and FAA package-delivery authorization.","status":"active","founded":2012,"hq":"Palo Alto, California","fundingTotal":null,"type":"hardware","reviewStatus":"reviewed","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByCompanyId":null,"sources":[{"url":"https://wing.com/about","title":"About Wing (founded 2012 in Google labs; Alphabet subsidiary 2018; 450,000+ deliveries)","sourceName":"Wing (official)"},{"url":"https://x.company/projects/wing/","title":"Wing, a Google X moonshot that graduated to an Alphabet company","sourceName":"X Development (official)"},{"url":"https://www.geekwire.com/2018/loon-wing-x-alphabet-google/","title":"Loon and Wing graduate from Alphabet's X into independent companies (Jul 2018)","sourceName":"GeekWire"},{"url":"https://www.faa.gov/uas/advanced_operations/package_delivery_drone","title":"FAA package delivery by drone (Part 135) program page","sourceName":"FAA (official)"},{"url":"https://www.npr.org/2019/04/23/716360818/faa-certifies-googles-wing-drone-delivery-company-to-operate-as-an-airline","title":"FAA certifies Wing to operate as an airline (first Part 135 air-carrier cert) (Apr 23, 2019)","sourceName":"NPR"},{"url":"https://www.commercialuavnews.com/infrastructure/wing-aviation-becomes-the-first-unmanned-airline-in-the-usa","title":"Wing Aviation becomes the first unmanned airline in the USA (Apr 2019)","sourceName":"Commercial UAV News"},{"url":"https://wing.com/news/wing-announces-cto-adam-woodworth-as","title":"Wing announces CTO Adam Woodworth as new CEO (Feb 2022)","sourceName":"Wing (official)"},{"url":"https://dronedj.com/2022/02/16/wing-drone-delivery-ceo/","title":"Wing promotes CTO to CEO (Feb 16, 2022)","sourceName":"DroneDJ"},{"url":"https://www.ttnews.com/articles/alphabets-wing-elevates-adam-woodworth-ceo","title":"Alphabet's Wing elevates Adam Woodworth to CEO (Feb 2022)","sourceName":"Transport Topics"},{"url":"https://www.congress.gov/118/meeting/house/117756/witnesses/HHRG-118-PW05-Bio-WoodworthA-20241211.pdf","title":"Adam Woodworth (Wing CEO) House aviation subcommittee witness bio (Dec 11, 2024)","sourceName":"US Congress (official)"},{"url":"https://blog.wing.com/2023/03/the-wing-delivery-network.html","title":"The Wing Delivery Network (architecture and scale) (Mar 2023)","sourceName":"Wing (official)"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/11/wing-to-expand-drone-delivery-to-another-150-walmart-stores/","title":"Wing to expand drone delivery to another 150 Walmart stores (Jan 11, 2026)","sourceName":"TechCrunch"},{"url":"https://wing.com","label":"Wing company site","title":"Wing company 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delivery drone came to rest on an 11kV power line, caught fire, and cut power to ~2,000 homes","description":"On Sep 30 2022 in Browns Plains, Queensland, a Wing (Walmart-partner) delivery drone executed a precautionary controlled landing and came to rest on an overhead 11,000V line, igniting the aircraft and cutting power to ~2,000 homes (45 min) plus 300 homes (3 hrs). No injuries. Wing self-reviewed; the utility (Energex) handled the response; no government-regulator action cited. Australia (not FAA) jurisdiction.","identifier":"bf38fab0-bb03-4f5f-a0a3-13113a3a1535","datePublished":"2022-09-30T12:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"property damage","publisher":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"},"author":{"@id":"https://deploy.report/#organization"}},"framework_metadata":{"framework_schema_version":"0.1.0","verification_status":"verified","maturity_stage":null,"lifecycle_state":null,"architectural_position":{"cohort":null,"sub_cohorts":[]},"within_cohort_verified_vs_claimed_pair":null,"cap_flags":[],"verification_depth":{"sources_count":2,"primary_source_types":["secondary-trade-publication"]}}}