It was about five years ago that drones were first suggested for aircraft inspections, and trials soon began testing this approach. Yet none of the drone techniques have actually been certified and put into daily operations.

That may change with the latest test by AAR of Donecle drones at AAR’s Miami MRO facility. The drones will conduct end-to-end visual inspections of Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s in less than an hour.