Someday, maybe in the not-too-distant future, drones will become the go-to mode of transportation for postal delivery services. But, like everything else that’s trying to get off the ground — literally, in this case — a few hiccups are to be expected. Take what happened to this drone in Russia, for example. It’s a Russian postal drone that’s making its maiden voyage as part of a test run organized by the Russian Post. Everything goes smoothly in the beginning, but it only takes a few seconds before the drone malfunctions and crashes full speed into a three-story brick building. Welp.

To be fair, it would’ve been unfair to expect this test to run as smoothly as a lot of people expected. Drone deliveries are still in the embryonic stage, so some setbacks are to be expected. But it’s still disappointing to see this test come to a shattering halt so soon after it began. The drone could have at least stayed in the air for a few minutes, or at least made it close to its destination before malfunctioning. But it wasn’t meant to be. The $20,000 piece of equipment managed to get off the ground, but only for a few fleeting seconds. It ended up crashing into a brick building and the results weren’t pretty.

Fortunately, Russia doesn’t appear to be giving up on the promise to use drones for postal deliveries. It’s been planning to do something like it since 2016 and while this test run proved costly — did I mention that the drone costs $20,000? — it comes with the territory of the “one step backward, two steps forward” mantra inventors usually adhere too.

For what it’s worth, the crash may not have been caused by the drone itself, which should come as a sigh of relief for the people involved. According to reports, the Wi-Fi connections in the area may have caused the crash. That’s something that can be avoided with a few tweaks to the drone’s signal. Hopefully, the people behind this project find a way to get it right the next time. The thought of drone postal delivery is intriguing for its potential to make this service easier for customers.

For now, though, the Russian drone made by Rudron/Expeditor 3M can take comfort knowing it’s in good company with the Knightscope K5, a security robot being tested in Washington D.C. that somehow decided that taking a dip in a water fountain would be much more fun than fulfilling its duties and obligations.

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