Two electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) built by Xpeng Aeroht of China collided during a rehearsal for the Changchun Air Show in China on September 16, 2025, according to Chinese media reports.
At least one person was hospitalized with what was described as non-life-threatening injuries. The cause of the incident is unknown, and Xpeng has not yet made an official statement.
The midair collision is thought to be the first ever involving two eVTOL aircraft. Video of the accident uploaded to YouTube showed fire and black smoke pouring from one of the aircraft on the ground as a fire rescue crew tried to extinguish the blaze.
Founded in 2013, Xpeng Aeroht is the flying car division of Chinese EV maker Xpeng. The company has focused on modular flying cars, tiltrotor concepts and urban eVTOL designs.
In 2024, the company’s Land Aircraft Carrier (LAC) prototype drew worldwide attention after making its first public flight and generating more than 2,000 pre-orders, each priced at around 2 million yuan (about $280,000). Recently, the eVTOL received a special flight permit in the UAE, reflecting Xpeng’s growing international ambitions.
The accident comes at a sensitive moment. The Changchun Air Show, scheduled to open September 19, 2025, is a major showcase for Chinese aerospace and automotive innovation. The rehearsal collision, occurring before the show crowds arrived, could have been much worse had spectators been injured.
Initial accounts suggest the eVTOLs were operating in close formation at the time of the collision.
The Aeroht models can operate in autonomous or manual modes, according to the manufacturer. Their features include a 270-degree panoramic cockpit, simplified single-lever controls, and short-range endurance of five to six flights per charge. While these innovations are meant to make eVTOLs accessible even to nonpilots, the Changchun crash underscores the complexities of low-altitude aviation where multiple vehicles share crowded airspace.
The incident highlights the broader question of eVTOLs safety. Developers position these aircraft as the backbone of future urban air mobility, but the technology remains in its infancy. One challenge is ensuring the reliability of electric propulsion and battery systems. Batteries are sensitive to temperature extremes, rapid discharge cycles, and weight issues, all of which can affect performance.
Redundancy is another concern. Traditional aircraft are designed with multiple backups for critical systems, but in lightweight eVTOLs, providing sufficient redundancy without compromising range or payload is a major engineering puzzle.
Airspace integration also looms large. If eVTOLs proliferate in cities, regulators will need robust traffic management systems to prevent midair collisions. Developing these frameworks will take time, testing, and international cooperation. Until then, accidents such as the one in Changchun are likely to spark debate over how quickly the industry can join aviation’s mainstream.
Several high-profile eVTOL developers have made safety central to their designs. Joby Aviation’s S4 incorporates distributed electric propulsion with six tilting rotors, each capable of independent operation. This provides redundancy so the aircraft can continue flying even if one or more rotors fail. Joby has also emphasized crashworthy energy-absorbing structures, multiple backup flight-control computers, and rigorous FAA certification standards.
Archer Aviation’s Midnight similarly employs a multi-rotor distributed propulsion system, designed to allow controlled descent in case of partial failure. Archer has also highlighted simplified vehicle health monitoring systems and robust emergency procedures as part of its certification campaign.
One way to enhance survivability is through advanced onboard safety systems. Some eVTOL developers are exploring whole-airframe ballistic parachutes, similar to those found in certain general aviation aircraft such as the Cirrus SR22. These rocket-deployed parachutes can lower an entire aircraft to the ground during a catastrophic failure.
In addition, manufacturers are studying crashworthy seating, energy-absorbing landing gear, and redundant rotor systems that could allow a controlled descent even after component failures.
While such technologies add weight and cost, they provide critical layers of protection and may prove essential in building public confidence as urban air mobility vehicles enter service.
