Josh Stein becomes first governor to fly in electric plane, touts new 'air taxis' for NC

Josh Shaffer, The News & Observer on Sep 23, 2026

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SANFORD, N.C. — Gov. Josh Stein buckled his seatbelt Wednesday and sailed into the Lee County skies inside an electric plane no louder than a toy drone — a symbolic flight launched as North Carolina opens a new era of high-tech aviation.

By climbing into the cockpit, Stein became the first governor anywhere to ride an electric aircraft, part of a pilot program that will soon see “air taxis” flying across the state, some of them autonomous, some taking off vertically.

“Awesome,” said Stein, stepping out. “How many G’s did we pull?

“I’ll check the log,” said Kyle Clark, the pilot and CEO of Beta Technologies. “Maybe about 2.”

“I think it was 10,” Stein joked.

North Carolina and a handful of other states have been chosen for an FAA-backed program that will create a network of “air taxis” connecting hospitals, underused airports and rural residents of the state.

The idea is to use developing aviation technology to send aircraft that are both more nimble and inexpensive to get critical medical supplies into the state’s rural corners, especially during hurricanes or forest fires that conventional planes might not navigate.

“Too many people don’t have access to an emergency room in a short drive,” Stein told a crowd of several hundred at Raleigh Executive Jetport outside Sanford, “and that’s to say nothing of the specialty medicine.”

Joby Aviation, one of the state’s industry partners, traveled 121 nautical miles from Manteo to Raleigh last week in the first-ever autonomous flight, meaning the plane largely flew itself with no input from the safety pilot onboard.

Between Joby and Beta Technologies, the state has already seen roughly 30 of these experimental flights in the last week, and in the pilot program lasting until 2029, will one day evolve to carrying patients along with medical supplies.

State officials noted that North Carolina has 3.4 million people living in rural areas — second-highest in the country. This complicates care for patients needing unique surgeries offered far away or time-sensitive medicines and donated organs.

“We want more health care in rural areas,” said Debra Farrington, deputy secretary of NC Health and Human Services. “We must reduce the degree geography influences access and outcomes.”

Planes capable of traveling where roads are damaged by hurricanes and floods will allow for critical relief supplies to arrive quickly. NC Department of Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson asked the crowd to imagine if relief supplies could have been delivered by air taxis during and after Hurricane Helene, easily passing over flooded highways and blocked rural roads.

“These air taxis will play a vital role in areas where minutes can mean the difference between life and death,” he said.

NCDOT assembled a team to carry out the program so the FAA can study data and make informed decisions about rules for air taxis in the future, including aircraft manufacturers Joby and Beta, operators Causey Aviation and Metro Aviation and health systems WakeMed and UNC Health. UPS Flight Forward, a subsidiary of the ubiquitous shipping company, will help with logistics.

“This is an exciting day for North Carolina,” Stein said. “Today we are cementing North Carolina’s aviation legacy ... North Carolina is first in flight, and we are the future of flight.”