Japan Airlines trials autonomous drones for aircraft inspections

Japan Airlines is trialling fully autonomous drones for exterior aircraft inspections with French manufacturer Donecle, the first such trial in Japan. Since late June the airline has been comparing conventional visual checks with images the drones capture.

The drone is Donecle's Iris GVI. Japan Airlines says aircraft manufacturers' maintenance manuals permit its use. It flies around the aircraft autonomously and without contact, producing high-resolution images, and image analysis is intended to locate and measure damage as well.

The airline aims to speed up inspections and reduce work at height, with the time saved going toward predictive maintenance.