Metro Aviation and BETA Technologies Bring Electric Aviation to ECU Health

October 5, 2026

Metro Aviation’s partnership with BETA Technologies continued its momentum in North Carolina in September as BETA’s all-electric ALIA conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft took flight as part of eLIFT-NC, giving longtime Metro partner ECU Health a firsthand look at how next-generation aviation could support health care and emergency response across the state.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s eLIFT-NC project is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (US D.O.T.) and Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) and is focused on exploring medical and disaster-response applications for advanced air mobility.

For Metro, bringing the demonstration to eastern North Carolina was especially meaningful. Metro has partnered with ECU Health EastCare since 2013, providing aviation operations for the health system’s critical care transport program. Today, Metro operates eight aircraft for EastCare, supporting critical care transport throughout eastern North Carolina.

“From the beginning, our partnership with BETA has been about finding a more affordable way to expand access to air medical transport,” said Todd Stanberry, vice president at Metro Aviation. “ECU Health has been part of the Metro family for more than a decade, and they understand better than most the challenges of delivering critical care across a large, rural service area. Seeing ALIA fly these routes brings all that we’ve been talking about to life, proving how electric aircraft will indeed lower costs for ECU Health and so many others.  I applaud our partners at ECU Health and EastCare for stepping up with us to lead the charge into the future for the air medical industry.”

ECU Health serves approximately 1.4 million people across 29 primarily rural counties in eastern North Carolina. The health system’s experience delivering care across a large geographic area provides an important perspective as eLIFT-NC partners explore how emerging aviation technology could help overcome distance and transportation barriers.

 “At ECU Health, we believe the future of rural health care will be shaped by partnerships that bring innovation closer to the people and communities we serve. Working alongside eLIFT NC partners like Metro Aviation and BETA Technologies, we have an extraordinary opportunity to reimagine how we connect patients, clinicians and critical resources across eastern North Carolina,” said Trish Baise, chief nursing executive at ECU Health. “Together, we are advancing a new model of transportation that has the potential to strengthen access, reduce geographic barriers and help define what is possible for rural health care.”

During the September campaign, BETA completed 18 eIPP flights totaling 1,336 nautical miles.

The ALIA CTOL transported a field medical station and supplies between communities, demonstrating how electric aircraft could support increased connectivity between North Carolina’s Research Triangle and the coast.

The mission provided a real-world look at how next-generation aircraft could complement existing transportation and aviation resources by moving critical medical equipment and supplies across the state, particularly in rural areas or when severe weather and other emergencies make traditional transportation more challenging.

“BETA has had the privilege to work alongside the team at Metro Aviation for several years on a shared question: how electric aviation can serve real-world medical missions,” said Simon Newitt, head of sales and support at BETA Technologies. “Metro has built the largest traditional air medical operation in the country by putting safety and patient care first. That experience shapes every mission we plan together, and it gives this partnership a strong foundation for what comes next.”

BETA is partnered with Metro Aviation as operators for the North Carolina eIPP initiative. Together, the organizations are evaluating how electric aviation can safely and efficiently integrate with existing infrastructure while supporting health care and disaster-response missions.

The North Carolina campaign is the latest milestone in Metro’s partnership with BETA Technologies, which began in February 2023. Metro has placed a deposit-backed order for up to 20 ALIA vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft as the company evaluates how electric aviation will complement its traditional air medical operations.

For Metro, programs like eLIFT-NC are an opportunity to ensure that the people who understand these missions best — health care systems, operators, clinicians and communities — are part of the conversation as the technology develops.

With longtime partners like ECU Health participating alongside Metro and BETA, the future of electric aviation is moving beyond concept and into real-world environments where its potential impact can be evaluated firsthand.

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