Beyond Smart Homes and Self-Driving Cars: Aircraft Flies Across the Entire U.S. Without Its Pilot Touching the Controls

Many people are getting more comfortable with autonomous cars like Waymo, but what about autonomous flights? Joby Aviation is working towards this goal and says it just completed the first autonomous flight across the United States on Sept. 18, 2026.

The aircraft traveled 3,199 miles from Buchanan Field Airport in Concord, California, to Dare County Regional Airport in North Carolina’s Outer Banks in a converted Cessna Caravan, which Joby refers to as its autonomous J208.

While a safety pilot was onboard in case anything went wrong, Joby said the pilot never touched any controls during this specific trip.

The plane handled taxiing, takeoff, route navigation, landing, and even inclement weather all by itself.

Someone Was Still Watching From the Ground

Embedded media follows. Please allow a moment for it to load.

Joby said that the flight was remotely supervised from Joby’s autonomy headquarters in California and from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, at one point from as far as 2,323 miles away.

Under Joby’s system, a ground-based remote pilot serves as pilot in command, supervises the flight, updates flight plans and handles air traffic control communications.

Joby Has Already Tested the Technology Hundreds of Times

The eastbound trip included stops in Phoenix, Fort Worth, Shaw Air Force Base and the Outer Banks. It even operated around busy airports and severe weather in real time.

Joby says the system has completed more than 400 flights and more than 800 automated flight hours in controlled and uncontrolled airspace. The company acquired the autonomy technology from Xwing in 2024 and has used the technology in three major U.S. military exercises.

The Historic Flight Flew Past Kitty Hawk

After arriving in North Carolina, the aircraft made a low pass near the First Flight Monument at Kitty Hawk, close to where the Wright brothers made their first powered flight in 1903. The aircraft then landed at Dare County Regional Airport.

Joby says the technology could eventually be used for commercial freight, medical transport, disaster response and defense logistics.

The flight is part of Joby’s 2026 Electric Skies tour and is now heading back west with planned stops in Raleigh, Fredericksburg/Washington, D.C., Louisville, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City and Portland.