Flyscan announces methane detection results from testing at METEC facility

Testing was conducted 7 - 8 May 2026, under a fully blind protocol: Flyscan was given no prior knowledge of release location, rate, or timing. METEC at CSU is the recognised North American standard for independent, calibrated aerial methane detection evaluation, conducting controlled releases from realistic oil and gas equipment including valves, flanges, wellheads, separators, and storage tanks.

The test encompassed 34 controlled releases over two days, with emission rates ranging from 60 - 950 standard liters per minute (SLPM), producing 128 total evaluation passes.

“Pipeline operators need tools they can trust, and trust requires independent verification. The METEC results give our industry a clear, data-grounded basis for evaluating Flyscan’s technology — and the performance demonstrated under blind test conditions is directly relevant to how we make deployment decisions. This is the kind of validation the industry should expect from any aerial detection solution” — James Holland, Chief Operating Officer, Kinder Morgan.

Flyscan’s hyperspectral approach captures wide-area spectral data across the full flight path in a single pass, without requiring operator steering or a favourable wind orientation relative to the leak source. The blind protocol under which Flyscan was evaluated – with no prior knowledge of release location, timing, or rate – is consistent with how the system performs in actual patrol operations.

METEC results are supported by additional real-world deployment data. In a February 2026 field demonstration spanning 4400 miles of US pipeline infrastructure conducted in partnership with a major North American pipeline operator, Flyscan’s platform identified 13 events, of which 12 were confirmed as active leaks – a single false alarm across the entire survey.

Confirmed detections included five underground pipeline leaks with no surface indicators, a compressor station valve leak that was unknown to the operator prior to the Flyscan pass, and a pig launcher blow-down valve confirmed only by soap-and-water testing. The METEC statistical validation and real-world field performance together answer both the analytical and the operational question operators face when evaluating aerial detection technology.

“Third-party validation has always been the standard our customers and the industry deserve. These METEC results confirm what we’ve observed in operational deployments – our hyperspectral platform detects methane consistently, at operationally meaningful emission rates, without operator steering and regardless of wind orientation. And it’s the same multi-service platform that identifies liquid leaks, right-of-way threats, and geohazards. That’s not an incremental improvement on what exists. It’s a different approach to pipeline integrity altogether” — Eric Bergeron, CEO and Founder, Flyscan Systems Inc.

No combined methane, liquid, and threat detection solution has previously existed in a single aerial platform. Pipeline operators have historically required separate vendors for each capability – adding cost duplication, scheduling complexity, and coverage gaps. The Flyscan service platform can deliver methane detection, liquid hydrocarbon leak detection, right-of-way threat and encroachment monitoring, geohazard assessment, and post-weather inspection on a single pass, on standard Cessna 172, 182, and 206 aircraft already in operators’ fleets, with no aircraft modifications required. The METEC blind test results give pipeline operators the independent, third-party performance data needed to make informed decisions about meeting their right-of-way integrity objectives.

Flyscan’s aerial methane detection service is scheduled to launch commercially in Q4 2026.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/09062026/flyscan-announces-methane-detection-results-from-testing-at-metec-facility/