Drones Overwhelm a Texas Suburb. Most residents are not happy.
It’s Raining Boxes in Richardson, Texas
The New York Times reports It’s Raining Boxes: Amazon Drones Overwhelm a Texas Suburb.
Richardson city officials gave Amazon zoning approval to start the drone delivery service in December as part of the company’s nascent Prime Air program. It promises customers tens of thousands of items — nail trimmers for pets, ankle bracelets, handcrafted, razor-tipped bread lames for scoring sourdough — in as little as 30 minutes. The delivery could be free or cost up to $4.99.
The Federal Aviation Administration, which governs U.S. airspace, gave Amazon clearance to fly its drones.
Now many other parts of the United States can expect their own drone deliveries, a welcome convenience for some, but an invasion for others.
Last month, Amazon announced that Prime Air deliveries would expand to 500 towns and cities by the end of the year. Other companies are also using drone deliveries, and the F.A.A. has forecast that by 2030 the number could explode to more than 3.5 million, up from the current number of 897,000 registered drones.
“What’s happening in Richardson is about to happen all over the country, and people are finally going to believe us that having all these drones flying around is actually a big, big problem,” said Scott Bratcher, who is the president of his homeowners’ association in a Richardson neighborhood that residents have called a drone highway.
In the Richardson neighborhoods near the Amazon distribution center, any joy about the innovation has been muted by the sound of dozens of drones, if not more than a hundred of them, flying by every day, sometimes so loud that they sound like flying lawn mowers.
Under city regulations, deliveries can operate from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m., and Amazon has assured residents that the drones would fly outbound at an average of 225 feet high. The maximum they can fly, according to the F.A.A., is 400 feet.
“We hear them zoom, zoom, zoom, back and forth from morning until past dinnertime,” said Nikki Anderson, whose extended family spotted the drone — and many more — one Friday earlier this month. She has long prized the serenity of her backyard, with its undulating pool and birds chirping from landscaping that included a shrub sculpted into the shape of a giant heart.
One online video shows an Amazon drone dropping a package into a pool. Another caught one smashing into an apartment building and crashing near a sidewalk. A recent video showed a drone atop a grassy median of a road in Baton Rouge, La., sitting there like a lost puppy.
Ms. Puri, like some of her neighbors, has set up a drone tracker. On Friday, she recorded what she called a slow day: 52 drones overhead, including three between 150 and 170 feet up, close enough to distract her while was inside. Her cat Eden growls when they fly that low.
When a protest was held in front of the Amazon distribution center in June, Ms. Puri took part. People waved signs like “Too low, too loud, too many.” And she said many Amazon delivery drivers, whose jobs may be at risk, honked their horns in support.
Brian Rowe, an executive in tech and cybersecurity, has shown up to City Council meetings to complain. He senses other problems looming. Nearly two weeks ago, a company began testing air taxis in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
They look like Amazon drones, but are much, much bigger.
What Cities Can and Cannot Do
- FAA Authority: The FAA has exclusive legal authority over all United States airspace from the ground up. Local ordinances cannot conflict with federal aviation rules or restrict drones from flying over specific neighborhoods.
- Federal Certification: Amazon operates its Prime Air service under an official FAA Air Carrier Certificate (Part 135).
- Prohibited Local Actions: Municipal governments are federally prohibited from creating local no-fly zones, restricting flight altitudes, banning routes, or regulating aircraft noise while drones are in the air.
- Facility Approval: While cities cannot stop drones in the air, some local residents are pushing municipal councils to scrutinize or reject ground-level zoning approvals for new local Amazon distribution and drone-launch facilities
Practical Advice
- Anywhere, USA, don’t buy a home near an Amazon distribution center.
- If you already live near an Amazon distribution center, sell. It’s going to get worse, much worse.
Property values near major drone flyways are going to take a hit.
Sell now, beat the rush.
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In addition to the drone noise issue, another one coming is that the blanket ban on overland commercial supersonic flight is being overhauled. The FAA has proposed replacing the speed ban with a rule that aircraft will be allowed to fly supersonic over land if they utilize aerodynamic designs that reduce the physical boom to a quiet “sonic thump” (what ever that is). There is a theme here: The benefit goes to a corporation’s balance sheet (faster shipping, faster business travel), while the cost (loss of quietude) is externalized onto everyday citizens. And by using federal preemption, federal agencies effectively disarm local populations from protecting their own neighborhoods. And you can bet that many of the people at the FAA regulating drones now will eventually find jobs at Amazon or other drone deliverers in the future.
drones drop boxes from 10 feet in the air — damaging orders: ‘F–k outta here’
https://nypost.com/2026/04/17/lifestyle/amazon-customers-claim-delivery-drones-are-damaging-orders/
Sounds like a new version of the old aircraft noise problem.
Nothing my 30cal air rifle can’t handle.
Just be aware that shooting at an aircraft (and the FAA considers drones as aircraft) is a federal offense, treated very differently say than if you shot at a ground drone.
You must not have an attorney in your family to consult.
Airspace above your property is not ‘yours’
Life in stupidland continues….
US Ambassador to China David Perdue says in their recent meeting Trump asked President Xi if China wanted to buy weapons systems from the US.
No wonder Xi looks like he’s stifling a chuckle in all those pictures.
Most of the Amazon logistics centers in Charlotte are clustered by the airport, but advisement taken. In any case I have doubts whether they’ll ever operate drone service to a significant extent here given the heavy tree canopy.
our life in thrall to tech overlords who have bought the government
Real estate has always been about location but funny how that has shifted to:
1. Location away from Amazon Distribution centers
2. Location away from noisy and water guzzling data centers
3. Location away from flock cameras
4. Location away from high tax state/county/city governments
At this point, sounds like being just away from it all is the better plan.
Got exit strategy? ‘Cuz no one will save you.
These asswipes in Richardson deserve to have their quality of life reduced to nothing. They are racist Christian fascist scum. I hope Amazon and Flock make slaves out of all of them. It’s exactly what these pedophile scum deserve.
Please explain why they deserve reduced quality of life. You may be right but I can’t figure out your evidence to justify such vitriol. Obviously, you know something important.