Maintenance and Modifications
Drones Could be Used For Airliner Preflight Checks
Working with NASA, company successfully tested autonomous inspection system on Boeing aircraft
Near Earth Autonomy aircraft inspection drone
An Emirates Airlines Boeing 777-300ER is inspected by one of Near Earth Autonomy’s drones at the airline's facility in Dubai.

Near Earth Autonomy has successfully developed and tested using autonomous small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS) to more safely and efficiently conduct preflight checks of airliners. This was done under NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program and in partnership with Boeing. Over the last six years, Near Earth Autonomy completed several rounds of test flights with its sUAS solution on Boeing airplanes operated by American Airlines and Emirates.

According to the Pittsburgh-based company, using sUAS trims the time needed for these detailed external inspections from up to four hours to less than 30 minutes. It also reduces the risk of diagnosis errors and workplace injuries, because manual inspections require workers to “climb around” on the airplane.