U.S. — Amazon faces multiple federal and international investigations into drone safety incidents in Tolleson, Arizona; Waco, Texas; and Darlington, England. The probes follow collisions with infrastructure and a crash into a residential garden involving the company's Prime Air delivery drones.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the October drone collision in Tolleson, Arizona. The Federal Aviation Administration is also probing the October incident, which involved two Amazon drones colliding with a crane.

In November, an Amazon drone snapped an internet cable while ascending from a customer's yard in Waco, Texas. The Federal Aviation Administration is probing the November incident in Waco, Texas. These domestic inquiries run parallel to an overseas investigation into a separate event.

A Prime Air drone crashed into a garden in Darlington, England, last month. The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch opened a probe into the Darlington drone crash. No injuries were reported in the Darlington drone crash.

Amazon stated its drone in Darlington operated as designed and made a safe landing. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has launched an investigation into the Amazon drone crash in Darlington, England, but no specific findings or determinations have been released yet.

David Carbon is the vice president of Prime Air. He addressed technical challenges during an internal all-hands meeting. "At the time, we were detecting these cranes above the industry standard," Carbon said. He acknowledged that real-world performance differed from training data.

"We trained our algorithms, we felt pretty good, but we found in the real world the performance just wasn't good enough and let me tell you, that was a humbling experience," Carbon said. Amazon plans to offer Prime Air drone deliveries in nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year. The planned expansion represents a sixfold increase from Amazon's current Prime Air footprint. Prime Air currently operates in 11 metro areas in the U.S.

Prime Air currently operates in parts of Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. Amazon plans to launch Prime Air service in the Chicago, Illinois; Syracuse, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boise, Idaho metro areas. Six additional Prime Air locations are coming online soon.

Each Prime Air site serves an area of approximately 175 square miles. Amazon drones are capable of delivering packages weighing up to 5 pounds within a 7.5-mile radius of facilities. Most Prime Air packages arrive in about 60 minutes.

Amazon has completed some drone deliveries in as little as a few minutes after checkout. Amazon makes thousands of Prime Air deliveries daily. The company has made hundreds of thousands of Prime Air deliveries so far this year.

Amazon Prime Air uses its custom MK30 delivery drones to autonomously fly individual packages to customers. As of February 2026, Amazon Prime Air had made roughly 16,000 deliveries. Amazon Prime Air operates with an FAA Part 135 air carrier certification.

Amazon has integrated its drone operations into some robotic sort centers. Prime Air is testing a new drone delivery mechanism that uses a retractable tether to lower packages to the ground. The current Prime Air delivery method involves releasing packages from a 13-foot drop.

Amazon drones use onboard cameras and sensors to avoid obstacles. Amazon states its drones do not track individuals or provide live video monitoring. Amazon has been awarded waivers to fly drones beyond the line of sight of pilots.

Andy Jassy is the CEO of Amazon. "Prime Air now has a design that’ll scale, plans to serve communities with 30 million customers by year-end, and expects to deliver half a billion packages by the end of this decade (with an aim to deliver inside 30 minutes)," Jassy wrote in an annual letter to shareholders.

Sucharita Kodali is a retail analyst. She characterized the ongoing operations as preliminary. "It’s still an experiment. It’s still in test and learn mode," Kodali said in an interview.

Jeff Bezos pledged in 2013 to build a network of drones to deliver small packages in 30 minutes or less.

Why It Matters

The simultaneous investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch reflect the regulatory scrutiny facing autonomous delivery systems. These agencies are examining incidents involving physical damage to infrastructure and private property across three different jurisdictions. Amazon's expansion plans target nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of the year, a sixfold increase from its current footprint. The company aims to serve 30 million customers and deliver half a billion packages by the end of the decade. The outcome of these probes could influence the approval process for future waivers and the renewal of international operating permissions.

Timeline

Amazon has been making drone deliveries in Darlington since February. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) permission for Amazon's drone delivery service in Darlington expires on December 31, 2026, but no specific decision date has been set for the renewal.

What's New

Further details reveal that Prime Air currently operates in parts of Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, and Texas. The service will be free for Amazon Prime members ordering more than $50 worth of goods. Amazon plans to serve communities with 30 million customers by year-end.

Statements included in later reports note that "Prime Air now has a design that’ll scale, plans to serve communities with 30 million customers by year-end, and expects to deliver half a billion packages by the end of this decade (with an aim to deliver inside 30 minutes)." Another perspective offered is that "It’s still an experiment. It’s still in test and learn mode."

How Sources Differ

Reports regarding amazon drone darlington deliveries present a detail gap. One account states that Amazon's drone delivery service in Darlington is capped at 10 flights per hour and 100 deliveries per day on weekdays, as per the trial permission granted by the Civil Aviation Authority.