PG&E Automates BVLOS Compliance with AirData

EL DORADO HILLS, CA, UNITED STATES, May 15, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) has long been an innovator of drone use, using remote flight capabilities to better serve a 70,000-square-mile area in California. As their drone program has expanded in scope, complexity, and size, the company has leveraged AirData’s platform to automate compliance requirements and allow their operations to scale safely and efficiently.

Currently at the forefront of PG&E’s efforts are Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations. These long-range missions, motivated by the risk of wildfires in the region, are closely regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Kellen Kirk, PG&E’s Manager of UAS and Fixed Wing Operations, said, "Implementing AirData has centralized our flight logging, compliance reporting, and maintenance tracking in an automated and proactive manner. This allows our pilots, technicians, and administrators to focus on their respective missions with confidence that regulations are being followed. The utilities industry is rapidly innovating in drone use, and AirData is a key part of how we stay at the forefront of these changes.”

BVLOS waiver requirements touch on every step of drone operations. The most critical workflows for the PG&E team center around the automated capture of aircraft activity, the tracking of pilot and visual observer activity, and detailed records of maintenance. Their drone program leverages AirData’s platform to help create simple, comprehensive, and intuitive procedures for operators and fleet administrators.

AirData UAV supports the automated syncing of flight logs directly from the remote controllers, flight apps, or cloud servers of most major commercial drone providers. As a brand-agnostic platform, AirData leads the industry in support for flight uploads from different drone manufacturers. PG&E has configured the AirData platform to automatically sync flights from their enterprise Skydio cloud and DJI remote controllers.

To comply with maintenance regulations, PG&E uses AirData’s Customized Maintenance feature to map service schedules to manufacturer recommendations. AirData UAV has allowed PG&E to unify a large number of compliance needs in one software platform, enhancing the speed of training, adoption, and inter-department communication. The flow of mission data empowers pilots and decision makers alike as they work toward the strategic improvement of safety in uncrewed operations.

“Remote BVLOS flights are a game changer for our operations, and my priority is to make sure we innovate responsibly and safely,” said Jon Teach, PG&E’s Expert Program Manager of UAS Special Projects. “One of the largest challenges we face with these new types of operations is the maintenance requirements set forth in our waivers. Thanks to AirData’s ability to track maintenance it assures that our aircraft remain compliant with our waivers and internal procedures.”

PG&E, with the help of AirData, is future-proofing against regulatory changes, and setting a strong precedent for thorough safety procedures. These foundational systems apply to not only their BVLOS flights, but all of their drone operations. As the landscape of drone use becomes more sophisticated and specialized, PG&E’s use of automated fleet management and intelligent compliance positions their program for growth and innovation.

If you want to learn more about compliance automation with AirData, we invite you to view our complete PG&E BVLOS case study, and to attend our discussion panel with PG&E at Energy Drone & Robotics Summit (EDRS) on June 17, 2025.

AirData UAV
AirData is the largest online drone fleet data management and real-time flight streaming platform, serving over 370,000 users with over 50 million flights uploaded to date, processing an average of 25,000 flights a day, with high-resolution data stored per each flight. It is used by large fleet operators around the world as a comprehensive flight safety data analysis and crash prevention platform, with advanced maintenance, mission planning, pilot tracking, and easy-to-use live streaming. Learn more at: https://airdata.com/

Trevor Hall
AirData UAV
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