A postal drone in Russia crashed into a wall and smashed into pieces during its maiden flight. The unmanned aerial vehicle took off to deliver a small package to a village near Ulan-Ude, a city in Siberia, but hit a three-storey building shortly after lifting off from a mini launch pad in front of a crowd of spectators. The drone had been touted as a new way to deliver post in the rural Buryatia region, located more than 2,700 miles from the Russian capital Moscow. Video footage of the crash showed the vehicle taking off before veering into the apartment building and showering onlookers with debris. No one was harmed in the incident.

A Russian-made drone on its way to making its first parcel delivery has crashed into a wall just moments after taking off. The smash shocked local residents and regional officials who had gathered in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude on Monday to watch the drone's maiden flight. The drone was sent to deliver a small package to a neighbouring village in the sparsely populated Buryatia region, more than 4,400km east of Moscow. Video footage showed the drone lifting off from a miniature launch pad bearing Russian Post's blue and white logo. A small crowd of spectators, present for the ceremony intended to showcase a new way to deliver mail in the region, were heard uttering expletives after the crash.

Want to know why mail drones aren't ready for prime time? The Siberian town of Ulan-Ude was expecting to beam with pride as organizer Rudron/Expeditor 3M tested a postal drone in the area for the first time, but they left red-faced after the inaugural flight went spectacularly wrong. The hexacopter courier went haywire moments after takeoff, smacking into the side of a building at high speed -- as you can see in the video below, it went from technological triumph to an embarrassing pile of scrap metal in a matter of seconds. It was a costly crash, too, as the drone reportedly cost about $20,000. It's not certain what went wrong, although regional leader Alexei Tsydenov speculated to Reuters that the 100-plus WiFi signals in the area might have played a part.

Russia's test launch of mail delivery service by drone ends in spectacular failure in the Siberian city Ulan-Ude.

You'd think a country that was capable of undermining an American presidential election would have better drone technology, but you'd be wrong. People in the Russian city of Ulan-Ude gathered on Monday for the first voyage of a postal drone, meant to deliver to the remote parts of the Siberian wilderness. The drone was supposed to carry a small package to a neighboring village, but it never finished that trip. Russia's first postal drone takes its maiden flight - and crashes straight into a wall. After climbing to dizzying heights in that Russian sky, the $20,000 disoriented machine quickly dove towards an unintended target: a very unforgiving brick wall.