A delivery drone from Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company, landed on a power line in
Danny Donald, utility spokesmanEnergex, ABC described the incident as a "first" for Australia. The company was able to restore power to 2,000 customers within 45 minutes, but another 300 people were without power for three hours.
"We didn't actually have to filmdrone, it caught fire and burned out on its own,” – Donald said in an interview with The Age newspaper. The drone fell to the ground, where utility workers found it. "The food was still hot inside the drone delivery box when the crew arrived,", – he added to ABC.
A Wing spokesperson explained to ABC thatdrone "yesterday made a warning controlled landing… and fell onto an overhead power line." The company said it immediately reported the incident to Energex, apologized for any inconvenience caused and noted that it was conducting an internal review.
There has been no permanent damage to the power lines or grid, according to Donald, so Energex will not seek damages from Wing.