Two Amazon drones crash after hitting construction crane in Arizona 

Two Amazon Prime Air MK30 delivery drones struck the same construction crane on the morning of October 1, 2025, crashing into two separate parking lots near Phoenix, Arizona, and prompting Amazon to halt its drone deliveries in the area. 

The incident occurred at around 10:00 a.m. local time roughly two miles northeast of Amazon’s drone launch site in Tolleson, Arizona, within a commercial business park west of Phoenix. According to local authorities and fire crews, the drones were flying in tandem — one reportedly took off right after the other — when both collided with an extended crane being used for rooftop work. It was unclear whether the crane had recently been erected. 

One drone fell near the crane’s immediate parking area, while the second came down in a different lot about 100 to 200 feet away. Emergency responders reported smoke from the crash sites, and one person was treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said. No serious injuries were reported. 

The Tolleson Police Department, local fire units, and state authorities responded to the crash immediately, according to local media reports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed it will lead an investigation, and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has also become involved. 

An Amazon spokesman issued a brief statement following the crashes: “We’re aware of an incident involving two Prime Air drones in Tolleson, Arizona. We’re currently working with the relevant authorities to investigate.” 

Amazon began its drone delivery operations in Tolleson in November 2024, deploying MK30 drones that can carry lightweight packages (typically up to 5 pounds) to eligible customers. This was the first reported crash of an Amazon drone in the area. 

Earlier in 2025, Amazon paused drone operations in Arizona and Texas after two MK30s crashed during test flights in Oregon — prompting software updates and stricter FAA validations. In those earlier incidents, the drones flew through rain and lost altitude erroneously, triggering midair shutdowns of motors due to misreadings from Lidar sensors, according to investigators. 

In this latest event, the exact cause of the collisions remains unknown. Investigators will likely examine whether the drones’ obstacle-detection systems failed to register the crane’s boom or whether the flight paths were incorrect. They may also consider if the crane was a newly placed structure not mapped in the drones’ obstacle databases. 

How Amazon’s drone deliveries work

The Tolleson site is one of just a handful of locations in the United States where Amazon offers drone delivery. The service is limited to certain zip codes, and for customers inside the coverage area the process is designed to be quick and highly automated. 

When a customer places an order online for an eligible product weighing under 5 pounds, they can select “Prime Air” at checkout. Once the order is processed, warehouse staff load the item into a delivery box that fits inside the belly of the MK30 drone. 

The drone takes off vertically from Amazon’s local facility and flies a pre-programmed route to the customer’s address. The aircraft navigates using GPS and multiple sensors designed to detect obstacles along the way. Flights are usually within a few miles of the launch site, with delivery times targeted at under an hour from when the customer clicks “buy.” 

Instead of delivering to a neighborhood drop box or community hub, the drones are programmed to land packages directly in customers’ backyards or designated delivery zones at their homes. The drone hovers low and lowers the package onto the ground before returning autonomously to the Tolleson base for its next mission. 

Amazon has promoted this service as a way to cut traffic on local roads and provide faster delivery for small but urgent orders, such as household supplies or over-the-counter medicine. While still limited in scope, the Tolleson site is viewed by the company as a proving ground for wider expansion of Prime Air across the US. 

For now, however, deliveries in the Phoenix area remain suspended as federal and local investigators seek to determine what caused the two drones to strike the same crane within minutes of each other. The post Two Amazon drones crash after hitting construction crane in Arizona  appeared first on AeroTime.

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