The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Amazon after one of its MK30 delivery drones severed an internet cable in Waco, Texas, last week. The incident marks the second federal probe into Amazon's drone program in two months, coming as the company races to expand its aerial delivery network while facing mounting competition from Walmart in the lucrative last-mile delivery market.
Amazon just hit another regulatory turbulence in its quest to dominate drone deliveries. The FAA confirmed it's investigating an incident from November 18 where one of Amazon's newest MK30 drones got tangled in an internet cable while ascending from a customer's yard in Waco, Texas. Video footage verified by CNBC shows the six-propeller drone shearing through the wire before executing what Amazon calls a "safe contingent landing." The drone completed its delivery successfully, but not before causing infrastructure damage that Amazon has since paid to repair. "There were no injuries or widespread internet service outages," an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC, emphasizing the drone's safety systems worked as designed. But this marks Amazon's second federal investigation in just two months, following an October probe into two Prime Air drones that collided with a construction crane in Arizona. The timing couldn't be worse for Amazon's aerial ambitions. Walmart has been quietly eating Amazon's lunch in drone deliveries, launching its program back in 2021 - a full year before Amazon's commercial rollout. The retail giant now partners with Alphabet's Wing and venture-backed Zipline to serve customers across multiple states, including Texas where this latest Amazon incident occurred. Amazon's drone journey reads like a decade-long comedy of regulatory errors and missed deadlines. Jeff Bezos first teased 30-minute drone deliveries in 2013, promising a revolution in last-mile logistics. But the reality has been far messier - regulatory hurdles slowed progress, the company laid off drone staff in 2023 during broader cost-cutting, and now federal investigators are scrutinizing two separate incidents. The MK30 drone involved in the Texas incident represents Amazon's latest attempt to crack the code. The hexacopter is supposedly quieter, smaller, and lighter than previous versions, equipped with "sense-and-avoid" technology that should detect obstacles. Yet somehow it missed an internet cable - exactly the kind of infrastructure that poses the biggest challenge to urban drone operations. Amazon currently operates drone deliveries from a handful of locations: College Station and Lockeford (the original test sites from 2022), plus newer markets in Kansas City, Pontiac, San Antonio, and Ruskin, Florida. The company just launched Waco deliveries earlier this month, with plans to expand to Richardson, Texas. Each location serves customers within a limited radius who order eligible items under 5 pounds. The math behind Amazon's drone ambitions is staggering. The company wants to deliver 500 million packages annually by drone by 2030 - roughly 1.4 million packages per day. But at this pace, with federal investigations mounting and competitors already operational, Amazon's timeline looks increasingly optimistic. Industry insiders say the real battle isn't just technological - it's regulatory and operational. Every incident like the Waco cable-cutting gives regulators pause and provides ammunition for stricter oversight. Meanwhile, continues expanding its partnerships, avoiding the headlines that plague Amazon's in-house approach.