FutureFlight

EASA has introduced a proposed regulatory framework for the operation of drones that it says will also cover crewed “VTOL-capable aircraft (VCA).” Its NPA 2024-01 document, published on February 6, explains how the European air safety agency plans to establish the acceptable means of compliance requirements and guidance materials needed to support the regulatory framework set out in the earlier Opinion No 03/2023 document.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed component failure resulting in the separation of a propeller as the probable cause of the February 16, 2022, accident in which one of Joby Aviation’s eVTOL prototypes crashed during testing in a rural area of California.

Advocates for hydrogen fuel to be at the forefront of decarbonizing air transport know this journey must start with a series of first steps. One such step is being made in the UK with the launch of Project Heart, through which multiple partners are preparing to support trial operations at several regional airports.

SMG Consulting has been closely tracking and supporting advanced air mobility since the new sector’s earliest days when there were certainly more doubters than backers. Sergio Cecutta and his California-based team have never shied away from making bold predictions, and its recently published latest outlook is no exception.