Eviation CEO Overseeing All-Electric Alice Test Article Steps Down

Company co-founder Omer Bar-Yohay, who’s overseeing development of the airplane at an airport north of Seattle, told FLYING Monday he is stepping down as Eviation CEO. 

The move, Bar-Yohay said, is part of a planned transition to the production phase of the aircraft. 

“It was part of our plan,” Bar-Yohay said. “It’s time for the company to mature and go into a process of industrialization and certification, going forward. This is definitely a journey that is coming to an end and a turning point.”

Replacing Bar-Yohay as Eviation interim CEO will be company president Greg Davis, who “brings extensive aerospace and international business development experience from companies including Viking Air Limited and Marshall Aerospace,” according to a company release. 

The timing of the announcement was a surprise, Bar-Yohay said, coming after what he described as a longstanding dispute with a shareholder about “how the company should be run” and the “level of involvement expected from shareholders.” 

“I believe it will be run well anyway, because in the end, we have the same goal,” Bar-Yohay said. “In my mind, it’s a good transition. I have great faith in the company.” 

A search has begun to “identify a leader to power the company into its next phase,” the release said, “including a broader program for the certification and production readiness of Alice in three formats—cargo, commuter, and executive cabin.”

The shakeup comes at a critical time in Alice’s development. Since January, Bar-Yohay has been saying the test airplane is just days or weeks away from its first flight as Alice undergoes taxi testing at Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO).

“I don’t want to say we are days away, but we are definitely weeks away, constantly gaining confidence in the systems and the way the aircraft operates,” Bar-Yohay said Monday.

The company also confirms the airplane is nearing its initial flight test. 

“Eviation expects to make the first flight of Alice in the upcoming weeks, having completed many preliminary milestones including initial taxi and flight test preparations,” said Dominique Spragg, Eviation chairman in a statement. “As we complete the technical demonstration phase, Eviation is now preparing for production to make affordable regional air travel a reality in the coming years.”

“We wish to express our appreciation to Omer for his contributions as a co-founder and executive of Eviation,” Spragg said in the statement. 

Bar-Yohay said “the pedal-to-the-metal approach is going to be here to stay, and honestly, I’m going to stick around to make sure it stays that way. I don’t see any difference in the way the company intends to pursue development of the Alice prototype and further the Alice product when going to market.”

“I’m a board member and I will be involved in the everyday life of the company, occasionally and as needed.”

The airplane’s crew has dealt with its fair share of testing rough spots. On January 28, the airplane experienced a runway excursion during a taxi test, which sent the airplane a few hundred feet off Runway 16. No damage nor injuries were reported, but shovels and elbow grease were required to free the gear before AIice was towed back to its hanger. Bar-Yohay said the excursion was due to the test crew intentionally inducing faults in the control system to observe how the aircraft would perform. Most recently, Alice was put through its paces last Friday during a motor max power test, Bar-Yohay said.