Partners of the SESAR Joint Undertaking project DARWIN (Digital Assistants for Reducing Workload and Increasing Collaboration) have successfully completed the first series of crewed flight trials to validate the project’s AI-powered “Introductory Digital Co-Pilot”. This milestone represents a significant advancement in the development of intelligent cockpit automation aimed at supporting future single-pilot and reduced-crew operations.

Conducted in May 2025 near Gorizia Airport in northeastern Italy, the trials comprised four flights using a Pipistrel light aircraft and four test pilots. The flights were organised by project partners Honeywell International s.r.o., the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Pipistrel, and EUROCONTROL, and were designed to assess the DARWIN system’s performance under realistic operational conditions.

Operational support for pilots during irregular and high-stress conditions

The system was tested across a range of representative flight scenarios, encompassing both standard operations and simulated emergencies. These scenarios were intended to evaluate the system’s operational robustness, responsiveness, and user interface.

A Pipistrel Panthera aircraft was used to test the digital co-pilot developed by the DARWIN team. The trials began with standard flight patterns, followed by a series of emergency simulations in which either the pilot or a passenger experienced health-related issues during flight.

Simulated emergencies included pilot drowsiness, with the system providing multiple levels of alerts and adaptive task delegation from human to machine. In cases of pilot incapacitation, the system initiated emergency autoland procedures. The team also simulated both minor and severe medical issues affecting a passenger, with the system detecting the situation and relieving the pilot of tasks such as suggesting a diversion or contacting air traffic control.

About the DARWIN project

The DARWIN consortium is developing AI-powered digital assistants and Human-AI collaboration frameworks to support future, more automated operations—ensuring safety levels equal to or greater than those of today’s full-crew operations, while maintaining or reducing crew workload.

This project has received funding from the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No. 101114733. The JU is supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and by SESAR 3 JU members other than the Union.

Lear more about the DARWIN project