FutureFlight
FAA Certification Leader Joins Autonomous Flight Pioneer Xwing
Outgoing FAA executive director for certification Earl Lawrence was responsible for the oversight of all categories of aircraft certification as well as production and airworthiness approvals. 
Xwing autonomous operations with a Cessna Caravan aircraft.
Xwing has already flown a gate-to-gate autonomous mission with a converted Cessna Caravan aircraft. (Image: Xwing)

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.

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