CNBC has learned that Sean Cassidy, the head of safety, flight operations, and regulatory affairs for the drone delivery unit, has left the company. Cassidy was the main contact for Amazon in their dealings with the FAA as they sought to get permission to broaden the program. This year, the drone program has faced difficulties due to layoffs as well as regulatory problems. Nevertheless, in October the FAA loosened their constraints on the flight paths of the drones, allowing Amazon to move forward.
CNBC has learned that Amazon has lost a prominent executive from its drone delivery unit. Sean Cassidy, the company's director of safety, flight operations and regulatory affairs, announced his departure in an internal note to employees last week. His role at Amazon since 2015 had been to guide the Prime Air program, a pet project of Jeff Bezos, and to liaise with federal regulators.
Cassidy shared his appreciation for the nearly nine year journey with Amazon in the note. The company has not responded to CNBC's request for comment.
In August of 2020, Amazon obtained Part 135 certification from the FAA, granting it permission to deliver packages with drones, though certain restrictions were put in place. Last year, Amazon declared it would begin testing drone deliveries in two small markets in California and Texas. Even so, Prime Air suffered from layoffs in January and has failed to meet its delivery goals. In August, two executives key to its operations also left the company, according to CNBC.
In October, the FAA loosened some of the restrictions on where Amazon's drones could operate, and the unit moved forward with its plans to begin with medication delivery in College Station, Texas. But an incident occurred in November at Amazon's test site in Pendleton, Oregon, when a drone crashed and sustained considerable damage. The NTSB is now conducting a Class 4 investigation in relation to the situation.
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