22 - 26 June 2026: Find out more
BUILD YOUR OWN
RESOURCE LIBRARY
Podcasts
Cities Thriving on Lighting, Episode 2 – Simplicity by design in smart lightingSponsored by Paradox Engineering
Cities Thriving on Lighting, Episode 1 – Lighting as the backbone of the smart citySponsored by Paradox Engineering
Opinions
Transforming indoor public safety with smart sensor networksSponsored by Motorola Solutions
EHang gains world-first eVTOL certification in China
The EH216-S model demonstrates it fully complies with safety standards and airworthiness requirements, and is qualified for passenger-carrying UAV operations.
Urban air mobility (UAM) technology platform company EHang Holdings has announced it has received the Civil Aviation Administration of China’s type certificate (TC) for its EH216-S passenger-carrying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system.
The TC demonstrates that the model design fully complies with CAAC’s safety standards and airworthiness requirements, and that the EH216-S is qualified for conducting passenger-carrying UAV commercial operations.
Unmanned electric vertical take-off
The CAAC formally accepted EHang’s EH216-S TC application in January 2021 and EHang claims it has obtained the world’s first TC for unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL).
For the airworthiness certification standard, CAAC reports it assembled leading experts from local authorities, aviation institutions and research organisations, and formally published the Special Conditions for the EH216-S UAV System in February 2022.
CAAC reckons where eVTOL aviation airworthiness regulations are still evolving, it is pioneering that China has formulated a rigorous and scientific regulatory framework of airworthiness certification for the EH216-S passenger-carrying UAV system.
Read More
During the validation process, EHang reports the EH216-S underwent extensive laboratory, ground, and flight tests at professional aviation laboratories and test sites across multiple locations in China. These tests included but were not limited to main material performance, structural strength, flame resistance, crashworthiness, gas toxicity, environmental conditions of equipment and systems, software simulation, data links, ground control stations, overall system functionality, electromagnetic compatibility, flight performance and flight stability characteristics.
“Embracing the TC as our springboard, we will launch commercial operations of the EH216-S unmanned eVTOLs, prioritising safety above all. This will enable us to steadily progress towards our strategic goal to be a UAM platform operator, and commit to our mission to enable safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone,” said Huazhi Hu, founder, chairman, and CEO of EHang.
“This will enable us to steadily progress towards our strategic goal to be a UAM platform operator, and commit to our mission to enable safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone”
The validation process scrutinised components, equipment, and the entire aircraft for prefabricated defects, faults and interference during both laboratory experiments and flight trials. With that, the safety, airworthiness, performance, functionality, usability and reliability of the EH216-S have been thoroughly and rigorously validated through more than 500 specific test items, more than 40,000 test flights for adjustments, and formal conformity validation tests encompassing 65 major categories and some450 individual test items.
EHang describes its mission is to enable safe, autonomous, and eco-friendly air mobility accessible to everyone. EHang aims to provide customers in various industries with unmanned aerial vehicle systems and solutions, including smart city management; and aerial media solutions, as well as : air mobility for passenger transportation and logistics.
Why not try these links to see what our SmartCitiesWorld AI can tell you.
(Please note this is an experimental service)
How does the EH216-S meet CAAC's airworthiness safety standards?What testing processes validate the EH216-S's flight performance?How will EH216-S certification impact urban air mobility operations?What technologies enable the EH216-S's autonomous passenger-carrying capabilities?How does the EH216-S contribute to eco-friendly air transportation solutions?
Latest City Profile
Latest Urban Exchange Podcast
Latest Special Report
SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)
You may also like these related articles...
BECOME A MEMBER
© 2026 SmartCitiesWorld
Smart Cities World Ltd, 37 Lombard Street, London, EC3V 9BQ