Manufacturer Gives Up on its Parachute-Equipped X10 Drone After Getting 0 Sales

Drone parachute manufacturer Aerial Vehicle Safety Solutions (AVSS) has voluntarily allowed the Federal Aviation Administration to revoke its certification for operation-over-people with the Skydio X10 system. The permission was granted in August 2024, but after spending months on the market without a single sale, it appears the parachute-equipped drone has been abandoned altogether.

The FAA gave its official stamp of approval under Part 107 rules for Category 2 and Category 3 operations over people on August 26, 2024. Then, on April 2, 2025, AVSS asked the FAA to take it all back.

The agency’s notice on the federal register provided some insight into the confusing decision: “AVSS indicated that they are no longer supporting this unmanned aircraft configuration and that no production units were sold.” This means that, after months of effort to get certified, the product went from approval to abandonment without ever touching the commercial market.

The rescission applies only to the parachute-equipped version. The standard Skydio X10 remains unaffected, and anyone still chasing over-people permissions will need to find another certified solution or apply for waivers. For the drone industry, this proves that certification under Part 107 Subpart D is complex, costly, and doesn’t always pay off.

Parachute recovery systems remain a niche corner of the drone market, despite years of effort to make them commercially viable. AVSS seems to be holding itself above water using DJI alone, with its primary offerings being parachute recovery systems for the DJI M4D, M4TD, M4E, M4T, M3D, M3TD, Mavic 3E, and Mavic 3T drones. The product claims to need less than half a second for automatic deployments.

FMI: www.skydio.com