by LIU Sunan

China is moving to standardize airworthiness certification for next-generation aircraft, including electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs), to support the expansion of commercial operations in low-altitude airspace.

The aircraft airworthiness department of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has released two draft airworthiness standards for public consultation: the airworthiness standards for restricted-category unmanned aircraft systems and the airworthiness standards for powered-lift aircraft. The drafts are intended to establish unified certification standards for both large unmanned aircraft and powered-lift vehicles capable of carrying pilots or passengers.

An industry airworthiness expert told Jiemian News that crewed eVTOL projects previously relied on case-by-case "special conditions," negotiated individually with regulators, a process that was time-consuming and resource-intensive. "The new standards provide a single regulatory reference," the expert said, adding that companies will be able to pursue certification directly under the framework rather than developing bespoke rules from scratch.

Airworthiness certification is a prerequisite for commercial operations, covering an aircraft's full lifecycle from design and manufacturing to retirement. China's modern certification system took shape with the ARJ21 regional jet and later the C919 narrowbody, creating a comprehensive framework spanning regulations, talent and processes. Novel aircraft such as eVTOLs, however, depart from traditional fixed-wing designs, leaving regulatory gaps.

Even in Europe and the United States, early leaders in eVTOL development, airworthiness standards have only been gradually put in place in recent years. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency introduced the SC-VTOL framework beginning in 2019, setting an exceptionally stringent safety target—fatal failure probabilities of less than 10?? per flight hour. The framework outlined a defined certification pathway for companies including Lilium and Volocopter, though both European startups later collapsed before reaching certification.

"Europe's standards were detached from current industrial capabilities, which delayed product launches," the expert said. By contrast, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in late 2022 set special conditions for Joby Aviation at a safety level of 10?? per flight hour. "That is a standard the industry can realistically reach," the expert added.

China's draft powered-lift standard largely builds on the latest CCAR-23 fixed-wing rules, while adding requirements tailored to novel configurations. These include provisions for transition flight between vertical lift and fixed-wing cruise, a feature absent from conventional aircraft. The drafts also introduce minimum safe-speed requirements in place of traditional stall-speed concepts. Electric propulsion, new energy systems and power architectures are incorporated into the standards.

Several Chinese eVTOL developers are already at advanced stages of certification. EHang completed the full certification sequence in 2023–2024 for its EH216-S, securing the world's first type certificate, production certificate and standard airworthiness certificate for an autonomous passenger eVTOL from the CAAC. On March 28 this year, EHang subsidiaries in Guangdong and Hefei received China's first operating certificates for passenger-carrying civil unmanned aircraft, clearing the way for commercial operations.

Other leading players—including AutoFlight, TCab Tech, Volant and Vertaxi—are expected to secure key certification approvals within the next two years.

The time required to reach regulatory acceptance is also shrinking. EHang, founded in 2014, submitted its type certification application in December 2020, with formal acceptance in January 2021, when no dedicated rules existed and "special conditions" were required. AutoFlight, established in 2019, saw its tonne-class cargo aircraft V2000CG accepted for certification within three years, while TCab Tech achieved acceptance in just two.

Once finalized, the standards could lower upfront regulatory work and uncertainty for latecomers, giving them a clearer and more predictable path to certification, the expert said.