Reliable Robotics – Uncrewed Cessna 208B Caravan.

Given the strict regulatory environment that commercial aviation operates in, it’s almost impossible to imagine a passenger-carrying aircraft without a pilot – or two.

Nevertheless, a number of companies including XWing and Merlin have developed, tested and flown a number of older generation aircraft without a pilot at the controls. To comply with safety regulations, even under experimental aircraft rules, a safety pilot has been on board.

However, on 27 November 2023, Reliable Robotics, a Mountain View, California-based company, has successfully operated a Cessna 208B Caravan from start-up to taxi-out to take-off to flight to approach to touch-down to taxi-in at Hollister Municipal Airport in San Benito County, California – with no pilots on board. The flight was “flown” remotely from 50 miles away in Mountain View. (Reliable Robotics was founded by Robert Rose in 2017).

The company states that 70% of all General Aviation fatal accidents “can be prevented with the use of Advanced Automation Systems”. Furthermore, 80% of all “aviation accidents are caused by human factors” according to the FAA.

Even though the Cessna 208 flew its own first prototype in December 1981 and was certified in December 1982, over 40 years ago, the use of modern sophisticated software and hardware technology has enabled the aircraft to operate under UAS conditions: Unmanned Aerial Systems. Whilst the certification and deployment of UAS in a commercial passenger carrying capacity may seem a long way off and will almost certainly be cargo focused initially, the technology has progressed to the point where full regulatory approval is more likely to be years away rather than decades. Looking at this video, it does seem inevitable. Given the large majority of underlying accident causes focuses on human error, it also seems very compelling.

Incidentally, Hollister Airport offers easy local access to Silicon Valley which may be handy with future funding requirements…