--- title: "Amazon Drones Kamikaze Into Construction Equipment, Burst Into Flames" description: "The Amazon drones were smashed to pieces, with some of the debris catching fire." date: "2025-10-05" modified: "2025-10-05" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/robots-and-machines/amazon-delivery-drones-smashed-crane" categories: - "Drones" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" --- # Amazon Drones Kamikaze Into Construction Equipment, Burst Into Flames ![Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images]() Instead of soaring through the air like a magnificent crane, Amazon's delivery drones ended up smashing into one. On Wednesday, the e-commerce giant temporarily suspended drone deliveries in the West Valley area near Phoenix, Arizona after two of its MK30 drones collided with a construction crane just miles away from an Amazon warehouse. It's yet another example of the company's struggles to achieve Jeff Bezos' vision of delivering packages right to customers' doorsteps with autonomous robots. The crash occurred around 10 am local time. According to the Tolleson Police Department, [per *CNBC*](), the drones were flying northeast back-to-back before the collision. One witness [told *12News*]() that the drones smashed into the crane while it was lowering an AC unit onto the roof of a building. Pictures of the wreckage [shared by *ABC15 Arizona*]() show the drones, which weigh around 80 pounds each, lying on the asphalt and smashed to smithereens, with some of its mangled remains on fire. No one is believed to have been injured by falling debris, but at least one person at the scene was hospitalized for smoke inhalation, according to local reports. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. "We're aware of an incident involving two Prime Air drones in Tolleson, Arizona," Amazon spokesperson Terrence Clark said in a statement. "We're currently working with the relevant authorities to investigate." This is far from the first issue involving Amazon drones. The company's Prime Air program, which is currently being tested with customers in Tolleson and College Station, Texas, has been beset with setbacks and is years behind schedule. Its goal is to have drones deliver [500 million packages per year by 2030](), which, right now, is looking like a pipe dream. In 2021, a drone crash in an Amazon testing range in Oregon [sparked an acres-wide blaze](). And last December, two MK30 drones [plummeted hundreds of feet to their doom]() after their propellers suddenly stopped spinning mid-flight. (An [investigation by *Bloomberg*]() implicated Amazon's decision to remove sensors that were present on its older drones in the crash.) Amazon [suspended drone deliveries for months]() afterwards — but insisted that the crash wasn't the "primary reason." Underscoring the engineering struggles, [*Wired* reporting]() found that the drones couldn't handle Arizona's extreme heat. Following this latest crash, the company [resumed drone deliveries]() in the state while federal regulators continue their probe. **More on drones:** *[Delivery Robot Torments Disabled Man]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()