A San Jose battery-lab fire is not a passenger certificate
On 12 October 2026 San Jose Fire Department open data records FIRE_OTHER incident F262859090 on Rio Robles at 10:29 a.m., with eight units, plus a second FIRE_OTHER row at 10:30 a.m. with zero units and a medical row at 11:41 a.m. with two units. The extract has no street number and no injury count. The New York Post, published 13 October, said the evacuation was Monday and quoted Archer telling the California Post that yesterday there was a small fire during routine battery testing in the 77 Rio battery lab, that it was quickly extinguished, and that employees were evacuated. The Post said three people were injured and later released, that Archer attributed the event to employee error involving 30 Molicel batteries, and that Archer said the aircraft was not involved.
The fire reports describe ground testing. They do not announce an FAA type certificate or a passenger flight. Joby's 10 September release still places the company in the fifth and final FAA certification stage and describes a 10-14 September Dallas-Fort Worth eIPP campaign among Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport, DFW Corporate Aviation, Arlington, and Toyota Plano. That release does not announce a type certificate or paying passengers. The same open-data extract also lists medical incident F262889339 on Rio Robles at 9:40 p.m. on 15 October, with one unit and no street number, so it is not identified here as the lab.
Who is flying: Eve is outside the U.S. pilot program, and AutoFlight added a memorandum
FlightGlobal, as carried in full by Defense Presswire on 7 October, reported that Eve confirmed it does not qualify for the U.S. eVTOL Integration Pilot Programme because Embraer is the majority owner and the programme is limited to companies not directly or indirectly owned or controlled by a foreign entity. The report names Archer, BETA, and Joby as participants. Eve's head of airworthiness said on 6 October that U.S. demonstration flights are still expected before FAA type-certificate validation. Chief executive Johann Bordais said no demonstration aircraft is available until late 2028, that the prototype has already flown to 30 knots, and that an 85-knot wingborne flight and an Eve 100 configuration freeze remain year-end targets. Brazilian ANAC certification is aimed at 2028. The original FlightGlobal page was opened and confirms the 7 October byline and the 2028 U.S. demonstration plan; the body past the lede was not readable there.
On 15 October AutoFlight said it signed a memorandum with JC Aviation. JC Aviation intends to procure a mix of V2000CG CarryAll cargo aircraft, V2000CGF firefighting aircraft, and V2000EM Prosperity passenger aircraft between 2026 and 2031, plus 10 SUNSHIP platforms between 2026 and 2029, starting with India and Brazil. The release calls two V2000CG CarryAll aircraft and one SUNSHIP an initial confirmed commitment. It says the broader 260-aircraft procurement will be finalized through later purchase agreements. The document is a company memorandum. It does not announce a Prosperity type certificate or a completed delivery.
What decides the next year: paid flights, not a lab incident or a letter of intent
The U.S. group named in the Eve report is still Archer, BETA, and Joby inside eIPP. Joby's September release frames the Texas week as operational data for later safety rules. Archer's Rio Robles event, on the Post's account, was routine battery testing, and Archer said the aircraft was not involved. The Post also reports Archer's employee-error account involving 30 Molicel batteries. That is a company account carried by a newspaper, not an FAA finding.
AutoFlight's wider 260-aircraft figure is an intention inside a memorandum. The only commitment the release labels confirmed is two CarryAll cargo aircraft and one SUNSHIP, with the rest left to later purchase agreements. Eve's dates are also still targets: 85 knots and a configuration freeze by year-end 2026, a U.S. demonstration aircraft in late 2028, and ANAC certification in 2028.
What to watch through 2027
Watch whether the Rio Robles fire stays a contained test-lab event. The Post's count of three injured people is not in the fire-department extract. A KRON account's Tuesday timing conflicts with the 12 October 10:29 a.m. timestamp. The 15 October evening medical row on the same street has no address. Watch whether Joby follows the September demonstration week with paying passengers. That September release does not claim them.
Watch Eve's year-end 85-knot flight and configuration freeze, and whether a U.S. demonstration aircraft waits until late 2028. Watch whether JC Aviation's two CarryAll aircraft and one SUNSHIP become purchase documents separate from the 260-aircraft intention.
