Service Bulletin. Aviation Safety Applied to Drones and eVTOL

A service bulletin is a publication issued by the manufacturer of one or more aeronautical products (aircraft or components thereof). The aim is to inform about an update, modification, or repair that affects such products and may have implications for continued airworthiness.

These types of publications are widespread in the traditional certified aviation sector as they are the main means of communication between manufacturers and other stakeholders (operators, maintainers, airworthiness managers, authorities, etc.) to convey service information about their products, forming part of the airworthiness data covering the safe operation of the product throughout its service life. They are frequently used to require corrective actions on an operational safety problem, the introduction of new functionalities or components, software updates, maintenance actions, etc.

Service Bulletin: Safety in Drones and eVTOL

Embention, a pioneer in systems for drone and eVTOL certification, incorporates these types of publications into its products for autonomous aircraft as part of its operational safety policy. This allows Veronte equipment users to stay updated on any need for improvement or correction affecting Embention products, thus maintaining safety standards comparable to those of traditional certified aviation.

Depending on their criticality, service bulletins are classified by consideration. Embention has adopted a system with 3 categories:

• Mandatory: Compliance with the bulletin is considered mandatory to maintain the airworthiness of the product. There are critical implications for operational safety.
• Recommended: Compliance with the bulletin is recommended because, for example, it improves product performance. However, non-implementation does not imply any consequences for operational safety.
• Optional: Compliance with the bulletin is left to the operator’s discretion.

Embention publishes service bulletins on its website https://www.embention.com/en/service-publications/ so that they are easily accessible to interested operators, in addition to actively notifying subscribed users of the bulletin.

Airworthiness in Autonomous Vehicles

Compliance with aviation safety standards for their application to UAVs and eVTOLs is one of Embention’s main premises. The application of aeronautical standards such as DO178C, DO254, DO160, STANAG, etc., and the implementation of methodologies typical of conventional certified aviation, such as the publication of service bulletins, are fundamental in their mission of “Enabling Drones to Populate Our Skies.”