Earl Lawrence, the FAA’s outgoing executive director for certification, is joining the leadership team of Xwing to help the start-up implement its plans to launch autonomous commercial cargo deliveries. On May 26, the company announced his appointment as chief compliance and quality officer.

Through its Part 135 subsidiary, San Antonio Air Charter, Xwing has been operating freight services in a converted Cessna Caravan aircraft as part of preparations to secure FAA clearance to fly its experimental aircraft commercially with a ground-based pilot and safety pilot on board. It has already flown another Caravan autonomously, with a supervising pilot on board, for research and development purposes. Last year, it conducted what it said was the world’s first autonomous gate-to-gate flight of a commercial cargo aircraft.

Lawrence is a long-serving FAA official who was involved in rewriting Part 23 rules to incorporate more flexibility to apply to new aircraft programs and technology. He was also instrumental in establishing regulations to cover uncrewed aerial systems, as well as setting up the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Integration Office, which has worked closely with Xwing.

As executive director for certification at the agency, Lawrence led over 1,400 people involved in oversight of all categories of aircraft certification, as well as production and airworthiness approvals. Previously, he was with the Experimental Aircraft Association and also helped establish the ASTM Industry Consensus Standards Committee.

“I was drawn to Xwing because of the company’s pragmatic approach that integrates existing and trusted aircraft with breakthrough autonomous technology,” Lawrence commented. “This approach is not only unique but viable as it enables the efficient creation of autonomous aircraft without requiring manufacturers to reinvent the wheel.”