Amazon will restart its drone delivery service in Arizona beginning Friday. This decision comes as two federal agencies continue to investigate a crash that occurred earlier this week.
The company had suspended operations in the West Valley of the Phoenix Metro area, which is its only commercial market, following a crash on Wednesday. In that incident, two Prime Air delivery drones collided with the boom of a crane near its same-day site in Tolleson, Arizona. The collision caused both drones to crash to the ground.
Amazon has been delivering packages weighing up to five pounds to customers via its Prime Air drone service in the West Valley of Phoenix since November 2024.
Amazon spokesperson Terrence Clark stated the company will continue to support ongoing reviews by the relevant agencies. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration announced on Thursday that investigations into the crash are now underway.
Clark said that safety is their top priority and that the company has completed its own internal review of the incident. He expressed confidence that there was no issue with the drones or the supporting technology. Nonetheless, the company has introduced additional processes, such as enhanced visual landscape inspections, to better monitor for moving obstructions like cranes.
The drone delivery program has faced several setbacks over the years. These include the departure of key executives as the company works toward its goal of using drones to deliver five hundred million packages per year by the end of this decade.
Amazon also halted testing of its drones after a mid-air collision involving two of its models in Oregon in December 2024. At that time, Amazon said it would suspend drone deliveries in College Station, Texas and Arizona pending a software update for its drone fleet. Amazon no longer has operations in College Station.
The program has also seen successes. Amazon received approval from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in May 2024 to fly its delivery drones longer distances. That approval removed a regulatory hurdle, allowing Amazon to expand its Prime Air service. The company has previously stated it plans to expand Prime Air delivery services in Texas to Richardson, San Antonio, and Waco, and to other parts of the country with sites planned for Detroit and Kansas City.