The National Transport Safety Council is investigating the accident of an experimental Joby Aviation aircraft on Wednesday in Jolon, California.
The incident involved a prototype being piloted remotely during flight tests at the Joby test base in California, according to regulatory records. During the initial phase of aircraft testing, the Federal Aviation Administration generally requires that aircraft be unmanned for safety reasons.
There were no injuries in the accident and the test was carried out in an uninhabited area, the company said.
“Experimental flight test programs are intentionally designed to determine the limits of aircraft performance and, unfortunately, accidents are a possibility,” the document reads. “We will support the relevant authorities in the full investigation of the accident.”
The NTSB investigates the most serious incidents and reports everything from aviation accidents to certain types of highway accidents, ship incidents and bridge failures. Joby’s crash on Wednesday caused “substantial damage” to the aircraft, NTSB spokesperson Peter Knudson told Bloomberg.
Joby shares fell 9% in after-hours trading.