Amazon Prime Air Makes a Splash in the Worst Possible Way
Footage source: Lindsey Austen via Storyful
Woopsies! In fact, this just might be a double woop. A woman in Richmond, Texas, got her first taste of Amazon’s futuristic Prime Air drone delivery service — and watched her package go straight into the swimming pool.
The customer, Lindsey Austen, received an alert that her Amazon order would be arriving by drone. When she heard the loud buzzing outside, she grabbed her phone to record what should have been a little “welcome to the future” moment. Instead, the drone hovered over the backyard, opened its delivery compartment and sent the package directly into the water.
PRIME AIR
The Future of Delivery Is Still Getting Its Feet Wet
See how Amazon says Prime Air is supposed to work, then browse consumer drones and a little waterproof backup for those unexpectedly aquatic deliveries.
Some links may be affiliate links. INYIM may earn from qualifying purchases.
That is not quite the porch, driveway or lawn Amazon had in mind. Austen said she was shocked by the splashdown and was not exactly eager to sign up for round two. For a first drone delivery, the whole thing landed somewhere between impressive technology demonstration and very expensive pool toy.
Amazon has not publicly detailed the exact cause of Austen’s botched drop, so we are not pinning this one on a mystery “technical glitch.” The company told local media that incidents like this are extremely rare, that it learns from deliveries that do not go as planned and that customers are covered by its A-to-z Guarantee when an order does not arrive as expected.
The timing, naturally, could not have been more awkward. Amazon had just announced a major expansion of Prime Air, with plans to reach nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026. The company says eligible items can arrive in as fast as 30 minutes, and most products weighing five pounds or less that fit inside a large shoebox can qualify.
Footage source: Lindsey Austen via Storyful
Prime Air’s current drones use onboard cameras, sensors and Amazon’s Detect-and-Avoid system to navigate and make autonomous safety decisions. Amazon says customers confirm a preferred delivery point when placing their first drone order, and the aircraft checks for people, pets and vehicles before releasing a package.
Water, however, has now made a pretty persuasive case for getting added to that checklist. Austen’s experience is also not the first viral drone-delivery-meets-pool moment to surface, which makes Amazon’s aggressive expansion especially interesting to watch as the service moves into more neighborhoods.
Still, you have to appreciate the efficiency. The package arrived by air, skipped the front door entirely and went directly to the deep end. Same-day delivery? Please. This was same-minute baptism.
Watch the Amazon Drone Drop a Package Into a Texas Swimming Pool
CBS Texas’ short video shows Austen’s first Prime Air delivery going very much off target in Richmond, Texas.
Source: CBS Texas; Lindsey Austen via Storyful; Amazon Prime Air.
