CERT

Certification

We set out to make the vision of safe, sustainable air travel a reality. Type certification of an aircraft is how the FAA manages safety risk for aircraft. It is a rigorous process between the FAA and an applicant that is intended to provide the public with confidence that a new aircraft will meet the FAA’s safety standards. Before we can commercialize our eVTOL aircraft, we must obtain four separate FAA certifications: type, production, airworthiness and operational. We’ve assembled an experienced team to lead us through the FAA certification process.

The Path To Certification
  • The first step was agreeing to the Certification Basis for our aircraft. In November of 2022, we finalized our agreement to that Certification Basis with the FAA through an issue paper. As part of the FAA’s Type Certification process for a special class aircraft, which ours is, the Airworthiness Criteria in our Certification Basis must be published in the Federal Register for public comment. That occurred in December of 2022 and that Airworthiness Criteria is in the process of becoming a final rule.
  • In parallel, we have been working with the FAA to agree on the Means of Compliance for our Midnight aircraft, which is the detailed list of design, analysis and testing standards that will be used to demonstrate that the aircraft is safe and complies with the Airworthiness Criteria. We initially submitted a comprehensive proposal for Midnight’s Means of Compliance to the FAA back in December of 2021. We are continuing to work with the FAA to close out our remaining Means of Compliance.
  • Lastly, we are also working with the FAA to review and agree on our subject specific certification plans (SSCPs). SSCPs provide precise detail on each of the specific tests and analyses that will be completed during the implementation phase of our Type Certification program, in which we actually demonstrate to the FAA that Midnight meets all relevant FAA requirements necessary to receive Type Certification.
  • We are now constructing the Midnight aircraft that will be used in “for credit” flight testing with the FAA as the company progresses towards our goal of obtaining Type Certification in 2025.

Making Our Vision A Reality

The future is not built alone. Throughout our journey towards making urban air mobility a reality, we’ve sought to collaborate with government and industry alike. Commercializing a new industry will take us all working together.