The FAA wants answers after Amazon drone downs an internet cable
Amazon said no injuries were reported in the incident and that it paid for the customer's cable to be repaired
Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images
An Amazon delivery drown knocked out an internet cable in Texas last week — and now the company is facing an investigation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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The incident happened in Waco, Texas, and was caught on video obtained by CNBC.
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It shows Amazon’s MK30 delivery drone taking a cable down mid-flight after a delivery on Nov. 18. The company aims to deliver 500 million packages via drone per year by 2030.
Amazon didn’t immediately return a request for comment on the collision. The company told CNBC, "There were no injuries or widespread internet service outages. We’ve paid for the cable line’s repair for the customer and have apologized for the inconvenience this caused them."
Amazon said the drone did successfully deliver the package it was sent to bring.
An FAA spokesperson told CNBC it is investigating the incident, but the National Transportation Safety Board said it hasn’t launched a probe into it.
In January, the retailer halted its drone program, Amazon Air, for two months and issued a software update after dust in College Station, Texas and Tolleson, Arizona affected its altitude sensors.
Amazon paused the service again in October after two delivery drones collided with a crane in Tolleson. While no injuries were reported, the FAA and NTSB launched investigations and someone was evaluated at the scene for smoke inhalation, CNBC reported. Amazon, which aims to deliver 500 million packages via drone per year by 2030, said it was collaborating with authorities in the investigation.