Amazon has paused trials of delivery drones after accidents involving two models, according to Bloomberg. It’s the latest setback for Amazon’s Prime Air program, which aims to deliver about 500 million packages a year to customers by the end of the decade. Bloomberg reported two Amazon drones crashed in rainy weather at a testing facility in Pendleton, Oregon, in December. In another incident in September, a drone operator employed by the same company tested how the drones would perform if one of the propellers failed, according to Bloomberg, and accidentally launched two test flights at the same time – causing the drones to collide. Amazon said it will suspend drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona, where it has commercial drone operations, pending a software update for its drone fleet, according to Bloomberg. Amazon’s drone program has faced a series of setbacks, including the departure of a key executive. Last April, Amazon ended Prime Air’s drone delivery operations in California, although the company plans to expand drone delivery tests overseas.
