diff --git a/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/actuator.go b/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/actuator.go
index 986a31c78a..9c5673abcf 100644
--- a/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/actuator.go
+++ b/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/actuator.go
@@ -301,20 +301,21 @@ func (a *Actuator) Update(cluster *clusterv1.Cluster, machine *clusterv1.Machine
 		glog.Errorf("attempted to update machine but no instances found")
 		return fmt.Errorf("attempted to update machine but no instances found")
 	}
-	newestInstance, terminateInstances := SortInstances(instances)
 
-	// In very unusual circumstances, there could be more than one machine running matching this
-	// machine name and cluster ID. In this scenario we will keep the newest, and delete all others.
 	glog.Info("instance found")
 
+	// In very unusual circumstances, there could be more than one machine running matching this
+	// machine name and cluster ID. In this scenario we will keep the newest, and delete all others.
+	sortInstances(instances)
 	if len(instances) > 1 {
-		err = TerminateInstances(client, terminateInstances)
+		err = TerminateInstances(client, instances[1:])
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
-
 	}
 
+	newestInstance := instances[0]
+
 	err = a.UpdateLoadBalancers(client, machineProviderConfig, newestInstance)
 	if err != nil {
 		glog.Errorf("error updating load balancers: %v", err)
diff --git a/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/instances.go b/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/instances.go
index c9d63850b0..cd0d92c526 100644
--- a/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/instances.go
+++ b/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/instances.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package machine
 import (
 	"encoding/base64"
 	"fmt"
+	"sort"
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/golang/glog"
@@ -262,3 +263,34 @@ func launchInstance(machine *clusterv1.Machine, machineProviderConfig *providerc
 
 	return runResult.Instances[0], nil
 }
+
+type instanceList []*ec2.Instance
+
+func (il instanceList) Len() int {
+	return len(il)
+}
+
+func (il instanceList) Swap(i, j int) {
+	il[i], il[j] = il[j], il[i]
+}
+
+func (il instanceList) Less(i, j int) bool {
+	if il[i].LaunchTime == nil && il[j].LaunchTime == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if il[i].LaunchTime != nil && il[j].LaunchTime == nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	if il[i].LaunchTime == nil && il[j].LaunchTime != nil {
+		return true
+	}
+	return (*il[i].LaunchTime).After(*il[j].LaunchTime)
+}
+
+// sortInstances will sort a list of instance based on an instace launch time
+// from the newest to the oldest.
+// This function should only be called with running instances, not those which are stopped or
+// terminated.
+func sortInstances(instances []*ec2.Instance) {
+	sort.Sort(instanceList(instances))
+}
diff --git a/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/utils.go b/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/utils.go
index ea47e466a9..7d6a00e0d2 100644
--- a/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/utils.go
+++ b/pkg/cloud/aws/actuators/machine/utils.go
@@ -35,50 +35,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/ghodss/yaml"
 )
 
-// SortInstances will examine the given slice of instances and return the current active instance for
-// the machine, as well as a slice of all other instances which the caller may want to terminate. The
-// active instance is calculated as the most recently launched instance.
-// This function should only be called with running instances, not those which are stopped or
-// terminated.
-func SortInstances(instances []*ec2.Instance) (*ec2.Instance, []*ec2.Instance) {
-	if len(instances) == 0 {
-		return nil, []*ec2.Instance{}
-	}
-	var newestInstance *ec2.Instance
-	inactiveInstances := make([]*ec2.Instance, 0, len(instances)-1)
-	for _, i := range instances {
-		if newestInstance == nil {
-			newestInstance = i
-			continue
-		}
-		tempInstance := chooseNewest(newestInstance, i)
-		if *tempInstance.InstanceId != *newestInstance.InstanceId {
-			inactiveInstances = append(inactiveInstances, newestInstance)
-		} else {
-			inactiveInstances = append(inactiveInstances, i)
-		}
-		newestInstance = tempInstance
-	}
-	return newestInstance, inactiveInstances
-}
-
-func chooseNewest(instance1, instance2 *ec2.Instance) *ec2.Instance {
-	if instance1.LaunchTime == nil && instance2.LaunchTime == nil {
-		// No idea what to do here, should not be possible, just return the first.
-		return instance1
-	}
-	if instance1.LaunchTime != nil && instance2.LaunchTime == nil {
-		return instance1
-	}
-	if instance1.LaunchTime == nil && instance2.LaunchTime != nil {
-		return instance2
-	}
-	if (*instance1.LaunchTime).After(*instance2.LaunchTime) {
-		return instance1
-	}
-	return instance2
-}
-
 // GetRunningInstance returns the AWS instance for a given machine. If multiple instances match our machine,
 // the most recently launched will be returned. If no instance exists, an error will be returned.
 func GetRunningInstance(machine *clusterv1.Machine, client awsclient.Client) (*ec2.Instance, error) {
@@ -90,8 +46,8 @@ func GetRunningInstance(machine *clusterv1.Machine, client awsclient.Client) (*e
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("no instance found for machine: %s", machine.Name)
 	}
 
-	instance, _ := SortInstances(instances)
-	return instance, nil
+	sortInstances(instances)
+	return instances[0], nil
 }
 
 // GetRunningInstances returns all running instances that have a tag matching our machine name,