One of Joby Aviation’s two eVTOL prototypes had an accident on Tuesday during flight testing in Jolon, California, the company revealed yesterday in an 8K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. According to an FAA preliminary report, there were no injuries as a result of the accident since the aircraft was being flown with a remote pilot; it does not provide any details about aircraft damage.
“Safety is a core value for Joby, which is why we have been expanding our flight envelope with a remote pilot and in an uninhabited area, especially as we operate outside expected operating conditions,” the company said in its statement. “Experimental flight-test programs are intentionally designed to determine the limits of aircraft performance, and accidents are unfortunately a possibility. We will be supporting the relevant authorities in investigating the accident thoroughly.”
Last month, Joby added a second preproduction example of its four-passenger eVTOL as it steps up a flight test program expected to lead to type certification and the launch of air taxi services in 2024. Over the past couple of years, much of Joby’s flight testing has been conducted near Jolon in California's Monterey county.
This article was updated on February 18 to correct information about the location for Joby's eVTOL flight testing.
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One of Joby Aviation's two eVTOL aircraft prototypes was damaged in an accident during flight testing in Jolson, California on February 16. In an 8K filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said that no injuries resulted from the incident, which is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
“Safety is a core value for Joby, which is why we have been expanding our flight envelope with a remote pilot and in an uninhabited area, especially as we operate outside expected operating conditions,” the company said in its statement. “Experimental flight test programs are intentionally designed to determine the limits of aircraft performance, and accidents are unfortunately a possibility. We will be supporting the relevant authorities in investigating the accident thoroughly.”
At the FAA's Aviation Safety Analysis and Sharing site, the accident is recorded as having involved a Joby aircraft with the tail number N542AJ, which was assigned to the company's first preproduction prototype. According to the flight tracking platform ADSB Exchange, the aircraft was flying circuits at an altitude of around 1,200 feet, at times reaching exceptional ground speeds of as high as 240 kts (276 mph). Joby's four-passenger aircraft is expected to be certified and ready to enter service in 2024. It is expected to have a range of 150 miles and a top speed of 200 mph.
In January, Joby added a second preproduction example of its four-passenger eVTOL aircraft as it steps up a flight test program expected to lead to type certification and the launch of air taxi services in 2024. The second prototype was expected to start flight tests as part of the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime program to evaluate the use of eVTOL aircraft for military missions.
The aircraft is expected to have a range of 150 miles and a top speed of 200 mph when certified. At the end of January, Joby confirmed it is planning to conduct public demonstration flights in the San Francisco Bay area.