Amazon’s MK30 drones had been delivering packages in College Station, Texas, and Tolleson, Ariz. after the company won FAA approval in October.
Amazon halts drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona, citing possible safety concerns with its MK30 drone software.
The planes, carrying more than 350 people, experienced "a loss of required separation" while preparing to land at the same Phoenix airport, the FAA said.
The two flights, United Airlines Flight 1724 and Delta Air Lines Flight 1070 came too close to each other while arriving at the airport.
Amazon has paused all drone deliveries in Arizona.Currently, Amazon’s Tolleson, Arizona, facility and College Station, Texas, facility are the only ones in the country that offer Air Prime.Air Prime uses autonomous drones to deliver packages weighing up to 5lbs to customers in 30 minutes or less.
An Amazon spokesperson said an incident that involved a crash at a testing facility in Oregon was not the primary reason for the pause.
Amazon's drone delivery pauses in Texas and Arizona due to software fix after two crashes. Industry expects business to be $10B by decade's end.
At this juncture, it should only take a few more months for the final assembly and flight certification paperwork to be finished.
A United Airlines flight declared an emergency on Sunday after hitting a coyote during takeoff at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, airline officials confirmed.
Amazon Prime Air, the drone delivery arm of the e-commerce giant, is temporarily halting operations in Texas and Arizona to upgrade its drones’ software. The move follows crashes at Prime Air’s test facility in Pendleton, Oregon, in September and December, first reported by Bloomberg.
The company said Friday it was immediately suspending drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona to fix the aircraft’s software.
PHOENIX — Heads up travelers, winter weather across the country is causing dozens of flight cancellations and delays Tuesday morning, including at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. According to the airport's website as of 6:45 a.m., there are 42 cancellations and 14 delays.