A investigation has been opened by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the crash of a Joby Aviation aircraft. The accident which occurred on Wednesday February 16 in Jolon, California caused no injuries.
An investigation is open to understand the circumstances of the accident
A few days ago, a remotely piloted prototype crashed during flight tests at the startup’s air base in California. For safety reasons, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) asks companies that develop electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, not to embark a pilot. Joby Aviation explained “Experimental flight test programs are intentionally designed to determine the limits of aircraft performance, and accidents are unfortunately a possibility”.
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The NTSB is investigating the crash Wednesday of a Joby Aero experimental aircraft in Jolon, California.
—NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) February 17, 2022
An almost normal accident finally, which allows the engineers learn and correct mistakes, without causing any loss of life. The recent buyer of Uber Elevate claims to want “to assist the competent authorities in thoroughly investigating the accident”. This incident occurred only a few days after the announcement of the partnership between Joby Aviation and the Japanese airline Ana. Together, the two companies want “provide a flying taxi service connecting Osaka Station to Kansai International Airport. A journey that could be made in 15 minutes with an eVTOL against an hour by car ».
The good dynamic of Joby Aviation
The startup is very interested in the Asian market. Joby Aviation also announced a partnership with South Korea and SK Telecom. In Japan, Joby Aviation also plans to collaborate with Toyota on infrastructure development, pilot training, flight operations, regulatory requirements, public acceptance and how to connect air transport to the broader ecosystem of transport and new forms of mobility. Toyota is also one of Joby’s main investors..
The industrial development of flying taxis still seems distant. The regulations in force require companies to obtain certifications in the various markets. This is a real obstacle to the democratization of eVTOL throughout the world. Last week, Joby Aviation has however taken an important step with the Federal Aviation Administration, signing a G-1 certification basis. This should allow the company to begin compliance testing and enter an “implementation phase” in the United States.