# Accident 20241216018709A: Amazon.Com Services LLC MK30, Pendleton, OR, December 16, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 16, 2024, 09:52 local time
- Place: Pendleton, OR
- Airport: Eastern Oregon Regional Airpor
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 45.6951° N, 118.8434° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=45.6951&lon=-118.8434&mi=10
- Aircraft: N223PA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N223PA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Amazon.Com Services MK30 (registry code 06102FK, https://openairdocs.org/model/amazon-com-services-mk30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Amateur-built UNKNOWN ENG (registry code 99999, https://openairdocs.org/engine/amateur-built-unknown-eng) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC MK30
- Reported engine: AMA/EXPR UNKNOWN ENG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 255 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR25LA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA064) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241216018709A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON DECEMBER 16, 2024, TWO MK30 UAS WERE OPERATING UNDER SAC-EC AND EXPERIMENTAL AUTHORITY AT THE PENDLETON, OREGON FLIGHT TEST FACILITY AND WERE INVOLVED IN SEPARATE ACCIDENTS DURING THE LANDING PHASE. BOTH DRONES WERE LAUNCHED 4 MINUTES APART FROM EACH OTHER, DEPARTING THE NORTH GOLF TAXIWAY, WHERE DRONE 1 AND DRONE 2 WERE CONDUCTING A PACKAGE DELIVERY. DRONE 1, ON RETURN TO THE HOME STATION, BEGAN THE TRANSITION PHASE OF FLIGHT TO VTOL MODE FOR LANDING. ONCE ABOVE THE LANDING PAD ON NORTH GOLF, THE PROPELLERS CEASED TO FUNCTION, RESULTING IN A CRASH LANDING FROM 66 METERS ABOVE GROUND LEVEL, IMPACTING THE GROUND. FOUR MINUTES LATER, DRONE 2 WAS PERFORMING THE SAME MANEUVER, TRANSITIONING TO VTOL TO LAND, AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE. THE FAILURE OF THE PROPELLERS CAUSED THE DRONE TO FALL 56 METERS, IMPACTING THE GROUND. THE ENTIRE EVENT WAS CONTAINED, AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES OR DAMAGE TO THIRD-PARTY PROPERTY.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB WPR25LA064](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA064), Dec 16, 2024: Amazon.Com Services MK30 (N223PA), Pendleton, OR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The incorrect altitude indication by test software during landing.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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