Safety
Sikorsky Exec Stresses Urban Air Safety
Counsels Against "Scaled Up Toys"
The urban air mobility sector will need to meet stringent standards, Chris Van Buiten, vice president of Sikorsky Innovations, at the AUVSI conference. (Photo: Mark Huber)
The urban air mobility sector will need to meet stringent standards, Chris Van Buiten, vice president of Sikorsky Innovations, at the AUVSI conference. (Photo: Mark Huber)

The emerging $30 billion urban air mobility market could succumb to crib death unless the industry embraces levels of safety that are at least equivalent to those governing helicopters weighing more than 7,000 pounds under FAR Part 29. That was the message from Chris Van Buiten, vice president of Sikorsky Innovations, this week at the AUVSI conference.

“I am extremely nervous,” he said. “Until you are ready to have your vehicle fly with your family onboard every day, you are making a toy. How many YouTube videos of a family coming off the 60th floor and tumbling to the sidewalk would it take to have this industry go away?”

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