The Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) has partnered with Los Angeles-based Bell-Dancy Industries (BDI) to test air taxi support infrastructure at Miami Executive Airport and other county aviation facilities. According to MDAD on Tuesday, the SafeLand pilot program is intended to evaluate physical and digital systems needed to support future eVTOL and drone operations in an urban airport environment.
Testing At Miami Executive
As part of the program, BDI will deploy its ALTA, or Autonomous Landing and Take-Off Assistant, system across ramp facilities at Miami Executive. The airport will serve as a test site for how advanced air mobility operations could be managed around existing airport activity. MDAD said the work will begin with drone operations before moving toward full-scale eVTOL aircraft testing, and the FAA will serve as the operational authority for test activity.
“MDAD operates five airports that serve very different communities and aviation needs, which is precisely why this program matters so much here,” Ralph Cutie, director and CEO of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said.
Florida’s Broader Plan
BDI is also an infrastructure partner for SunTrax, the Florida Department of Transportation’s air taxi testing facility, and MDAD said SafeLand will support that statewide work by moving testing from a controlled environment toward urban airport operations.
The department’s Florida Aerial Network plan outlines phased routes intended to support air taxi, cargo and emergency management operations. The first phase includes a Port St. Lucie-to-Miami corridor, with Miami International and Miami Executive among the listed airport sites, along with routes through Central Florida, Southwest Florida, the Keys and the Panhandle.
SafeLand is separate from, but related to, the FAA’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. The federal program includes projects across 26 states and is intended to collect operational data on passenger transport, cargo operations, medical response and automation. Florida was among the selected participants, though Miami-Dade’s SafeLand program was structured separately before that federal program.
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