• Amazon faces an FAA probe after one of its drones sheared an internet cable in Texas last week.
• Last month, the FAA and NTSB opened a probe after two Amazon Prime Air drones collided with a construction crane in Arizona.
• Amazon and Walmart are gradually expanding drone delivery to new cities. 

Amazon, Inc. faces a second probe into its drone program after one of its flying delivery vehicles downed an internet cable last week in Waco, Texas, CNBC reported.

An Amazon MK30 drone became entangled with an internet cable as it ascended from a customer's yard in the afternoon on Nov. 18, shearing the cable. The drone shut off and later landed itself.

“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,” an Amazon Spokesperson told CNBC.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident, a spokesperson told the news network, while the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is aware of the incident but has not opened a probe.

The incident follows a federal probe opened last month into a crash involving two Amazon Prime Air drones in Arizona, after they collided with a construction crane in Tolleson, prompting Amazon to pause drone deliveries there.

These are just the latest hiccups in Amazon's drone delivery program, which has expanded at a snail's pace since it was established over a decade ago. Regulatory clearances and safety tests have slowed the expansion of drone deliveries; Amazon has conducted pilots in several cities, but the service, branded Prime Air in 2022, is currently available in only a handful of places in Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Missouri, and Florida.

In the drone delivery space, Walmart is one of Amazon's key competitors. The retail store chain began offering drone deliveries in 2021 and currently partners with Alphabet's Wing and the startup Zipline for the service in a number of states, including Texas.

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