Minor accident at Joby Aviation

A minor accident has been reported by the manufacturer, but they do not consider this to be a serious problem. Last year, I reported that an interesting flying car was available for pre-order, but before that, I also wrote about the electric air taxi that is on the way to revolutionise urban transport. A minor accident during testing has now been reported.

Joby Aviation wants to enter the field of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) with a solution developed in-house, without any mishaps (and casualties). So far, this has been avoided, but the startup recently filed a new filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, reporting a minor incident. According to this report, a minor accident occurred during detailed testing in a deserted area, in which no one was injured, as the testing is being carried out remotely, i.e. the pilot is not in the cockpit. The focus at the moment is on flying in different conditions than expected at the designated remote site, so the future of the project is not in jeopardy.

Developed by Joby, the eVTOL is designed to carry one pilot and up to 4 passengers over a distance of up to 250 km at a maximum speed of 300 km/h. The idea is to innovate mainly in urban transport, although the relevant regulators will obviously have a say in this, and their emphasis will (of course) be on safe operation, without which these solutions cannot be used in everyday life. The company went public in August last year in a $4.5 billion deal, but since then the share price has fallen by 50 per cent, indicating serious doubts – after the news of the accident, the shares fell another 6 per cent. The company is now investigating the incident with the relevant authorities, but it has not yet been revealed exactly what happened and what caused the accident.

Source: www.sec.gov