CAAC established EH216 Type Certification team to further advance certification process

EHang Holdings Limited announced that the Civil Aviation Administration of China has established a “type certification” team for the EH216 passenger-grade AAV. The kickoff meeting was held in Guangzhou on April 13-14 with the aim to officially advance the TC approval work of EH216. This is unprecedented in CAAC’s record in TC approval projects for unmanned aerial system.

At the kickoff meeting, expert members of the CAAC TC team investigated and evaluated the design features, technical points, safety performance and other aspects of the EH216, followed by a field trip to EHang’s Research and Development Center. The CAAC team was led by Wei Chen, Deputy Director of the Central South Regional Administration of CAAC, and, Heyong Lin, Director of the Airworthiness Certification Office.

Mr. Chen commented, “Type Certification of the EH216 passenger-grade unmanned aerial system is a highly innovative project that calls for breakthroughs in the conventional certification process while preserving standard promulgation.”

As the first passenger-grade autonomous aerial vehicle platform company, EHang officially submitted the EH216 type certificate application to CAAC in December 2020, which was accepted by CAAC in January 2021. Last week, CAAC’s Chief Engineer Shijun Yin, spearheaded a delegation to visit EHang for inspection of unmanned aerial vehicle certification. The visit included the R&D center, command-and-control center, test base, production and development facility of Ehang. The delegation offered important guidance to the type certification process.

Mr. Yin remarked: “Unmanned aviation is an integral part of the construction of intelligent civil aviation and may become the primary form of transportation in the future. The Government and companies should work together to promote the development of unmanned aerial vehicles and adhere to high-quality standards when building the civil aviation infrastructure. Both the applicant and CAAC should have innovation mindset in the certification process while benchmarking international standards.”

As the EH216 TC certification progresses, EHang will continue to consolidate its first-mover advantage and accelerate the application of its AAV technology solutions for various practical use cases including passenger transportation, aerial sightseeing, air logistics, aerial firefighting, emergency rescue, and medical transportation.