{"id":"fd8f9c58-b667-4710-9a95-247f18d29177","slug":"amazon-prime-air-oregon-dual-crash-2024","kind":"malfunction","headline":"Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site","summary":"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.","occurredAt":"2024-12-16T12:00:00.000Z","reviewStatus":"reviewed","modelId":"989509b8-2112-4a9d-b37a-55d09be1aaa2","deploymentId":null,"companyId":null,"aliases":[],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"severity":"serious","rootCauseCategory":"sensor_failure","rootCauseDetail":"LiDAR misread light rain as ground and cut propeller power on two MK30s (removed squat-switch redundancy compounded it).","affectedUnitsCount":2,"affectedUnitsBasis":"exact","remediationStatus":"remediated","regulatoryAction":"investigation","regulatoryBody":"FAA / NTSB","createdAt":"2026-06-04T21:33:29.121Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-04T21:33:29.121Z","model":{"id":"989509b8-2112-4a9d-b37a-55d09be1aaa2","companyId":"b9b40dbf-7909-4d29-9bd9-e23f21bf06f9","modelName":"Prime Air MK30","slug":"amazon-prime-air-mk30","description":"The Amazon Prime Air MK30 is Amazon's current-generation autonomous last-mile delivery drone, recorded in the aerial form factor to fill the registry's delivery-drone coverage (it is the major US delivery drone with the most-documented safety record). Successor to the MK27-2, it is quieter with greater range and heat tolerance, carries onboard sense-and-avoid, and delivers small packages of up to about five pounds to customers' yards across markets including College Station, Texas, Tolleson, Arizona, Waco, Texas, Richardson, Texas, and parts of the UK and Italy. Made by Amazon's Prime Air unit, it is recorded at pilot maturity rather than stable commercial because a pattern of FAA- and NTSB-investigated crashes has driven repeated US operational suspensions, including a January 2025 pause after dual Oregon test crashes and a Phoenix-area pause after an October 2025 double crane-strike. Its predecessor, the MK27, had its own 2021 crash near Pendleton, Oregon, in which a motor failure caused an uncontrolled fall and a lithium-battery fire that ignited acres of wheat stubble, recorded here as lineage rather than a separate entity.","formFactor":"aerial","maturityStage":"pilot","lifecycleState":"active","supersededByModelId":null,"specs":{"notes":[{"label":"Maturity = pilot (cap-flag)","value":"MK30 has done limited commercial deliveries in a few US + EU markets, but a pattern of crashes and FAA/NTSB-investigated incidents drove repeated US operational SUSPENSIONS (Jan 2025; Phoenix Oct 2025), so it is recorded at pilot rather than stable commercial. The MK27 predecessor (2021 Pendleton OR motor-failure crash igniting wheat-stubble fire) is recorded as lineage, not a separate entity."},{"label":"Safety record (the editorial point)","value":"Amazon Prime Air owns the best-documented delivery-drone crash record (FAA/NTSB-investigated): dual Oregon MK30 test crashes (Dec 2024, LiDAR misread rain), Tolleson AZ double crane-strike (Oct 2025), Waco TX cable clip (Nov 2025), Richardson TX building strike + grass fire (Feb 2026). See linked incidents."}],"specs":"Amazon Prime Air MK30: Amazon's current-generation autonomous delivery drone (successor to the MK27-2), quieter and with greater range/heat tolerance, with onboard sense-and-avoid; delivers small packages (up to ~5 lb) to customers' yards. Deployments incl. College Station TX, Tolleson AZ (Phoenix area), Waco TX, Richardson TX, plus UK/Italy. Repeated crash-driven US operational pauses (Jan 2025; Phoenix-area Oct 2025). Made by Amazon (Prime Air). Predecessor MK27 had its own 2021 Pendleton OR crash + field fire (motor failure).","formFactor":"aerial (autonomous last-mile delivery drone; sense-and-avoid; repeated crash-driven US operational pauses)"},"manufacturerSerial":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","sources":[{"url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/transportation/amazon-prime-air-drone-delivery-mk30-design","title":"Amazon Prime Air MK30 delivery drone (quieter, longer range; sense-and-avoid)","sourceName":"Amazon (About Amazon)"},{"url":"https://dronexl.co/2025/05/16/why-amazon-mk30-drones-crashed-sensor-issues-exposed/","title":"Amazon MK30 dual Oregon test crashes (LiDAR misread rain as ground); FAA software fix; US ops paused","sourceName":"DroneXL"},{"url":"https://www.aerotime.aero/articles/amazon-drones-crash-crane-arizona","title":"Amazon MK30 double crane-strike, Tolleson AZ (FAA + NTSB; Phoenix deliveries suspended)","sourceName":"AeroTime"}],"aliases":["Amazon Prime Air MK30","Prime Air MK30","MK30","Amazon delivery drone"],"collisionRisk":"low","reviewNote":null,"manufacturerTermForTeleop":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-04T21:33:25.634Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-04T21:33:25.634Z"},"deployment":null,"company":null,"derived":{"status":"active"},"sources":[{"id":"127abfc1-ef48-4688-853f-e6b6c5628055","incidentId":"fd8f9c58-b667-4710-9a95-247f18d29177","url":"https://dronexl.co/2025/05/16/why-amazon-mk30-drones-crashed-sensor-issues-exposed/","label":"DroneXL","publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":null,"sourceName":null,"mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-06-04T21:33:29.121Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-04T21:33:29.121Z"}],"responses":[],"statusEvents":[],"jsonLd":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/amazon-prime-air-oregon-dual-crash-2024","url":"https://registry.deploy.report/incidents/amazon-prime-air-oregon-dual-crash-2024","headline":"Two Amazon MK30 delivery drones crashed within minutes at an Oregon test site","description":"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.","identifier":"fd8f9c58-b667-4710-9a95-247f18d29177","datePublished":"2024-12-16T12:00:00.000Z","articleSection":"malfunction","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":1,"primary_source_types":[]}}}