RobotRisk Autonomous Systems Incident & Risk Register
RobotRisk / Amazon / 2025-11
warehouse automation · malfunction

Amazon Prime Air drone severs cable in Waco, Texas, prompting FAA probe

S3 · 11/2025 · Amazon · Waco, TX, USA

Record

CompanyAmazon
Categorywarehouse automation
Typemalfunction
Date11/2025
Time of daynot documented
LocationWaco, TX, USA
SeverityS3 (recall, enforcement, or fleet-wide fault)
Scale-
Confidencehigh
VerificationYes - adversarially checked against the cited source
SourceCNBC

What happened

An Amazon Prime Air delivery drone struck and severed a wire/cable line in Waco, Texas, prompting an FAA investigation.

Amazon record context

Entries by year and severity

232018 S4: 11182020 S3: 11202024 S3: 11242025 S2: 22025 S3: 13252026 S2: 1126
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Amazon vs warehouse automation alternatives

warehouse automation context

warehouse automation: entries by year

232015 S3: 11152016 S5: 11162017 S4: 11172018 S4: 11182020 S3: 11202021 S3: 11212023 S4: 11232024 S3: 12024 S5: 23242025 S2: 22025 S3: 13252026 S2: 1126
S1S2S3S4S5

warehouse automation: failure modes

warehouse automation: most entries

malfunction context

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malfunction: by year

malfunction: severity profile

Comparable malfunction events in warehouse automation

SevDateCompanyEvent
S22025-05AmazonAmazon delivery drone makes crash landing at Tolleson apartment complex
S32024-12-16AmazonAmazon Prime Air delivery drones crash after backup rain/landing sensor removed from MK30 design
S42017-04-25SSI SchaeferRacking/crane system collapse at PepsiCo-owned Lebedyansky juice plant (Russia)

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