Business aircraft service specialist Jet Aviation has been approved by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) to use automated drone and artificial intelligence technology for general visual inspection (GVI) work. The drones are used to create images of an aircraft’s entire surface, from which a detailed paperless report can be derived.
A GVI is an important, regulated maintenance process that identifies defects in an aircraft’s surface. Drones are more efficient than traditional methods for this purpose, and they reduce aircraft downtime. These reports are a valued element of pre-purchase inspections.
“The FOCA approval is a significant milestone for our program as we continue to expand our automated drone and AI capabilities across our network,” said Vincent Rongier, v-p of business operations support. “As we continue to challenge ourselves to re-imagine business aviation and expand our services, we can provide groundbreaking solutions for even the most challenging inspections and offer innovative services centered around predictive maintenance.”
The global company—which is wholly owned by U.S.-based General Dynamics—introduced drones and AI last year for a number of non-regulated services such as pre-purchase aircraft structure inspections, paint quality checks, and inspections in connection with insurance and warranty issues. Regulated inspections are now available for the Gulfstream G280, G550, and G650, as well as for other larger wide- and narrowbody business aircraft.