Announcement of Partial Damage to the eVTOL during a Demonstration Flight at the World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan

May 07, 2025
Marubeni Corporation

Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”) has decided to suspend demonstration flights of the one-person eVTOL “HEXA”, developed and manufactured by the U.S. company LIFT AIRCRAFT, Inc. (hereinafter, “LIFT”) in partnership with Marubeni Aerospace Corporation, which were taking place at the EXPO Vertiport, a port within the Future Society Showcase Project at the 2025 World Expo, Japan (Osaka-Kansai Expo), due to partial damage sustained to the aircraft on April 26.

Marubeni will continue to work diligently with LIFT to determine the cause of the damage. An announcement will be made on this matter as soon as the cause has been identified. Any decision regarding the resumption of demonstration flights will be based on our conclusions as to the cause, with safety as our top priority, following discussions with the relevant organizations and companies.

Overview of the damage
Date and time of occurrence:	Around 15:00 JST on April 26, 2025
Details:	One of HEXA’s 18 propeller motors and one of the aircraft frames were partially damaged, and two motor covers on the arm fell onto the port during a demonstration flight.
Impact:	No injuries, including to the pilot. No damage to the port.
Aircraft Overview
Aircraft size:	Length 4.5m, Height 2.6m
Aircraft total weight:	Maximum 488 lbs (approximately 221 kg)
Aircraft payload:	Maximum 250 lbs (approximately 113 kg)
Flight time:	Approximately 10–15 minutes
LIFT Overview
Company Name:	LIFT Aircraft Inc.
Head Office:	Austin, Texas in the U.S.
Establishment:	2017
Representative:	Matt Chasen (Founder & CEO)
Main Business:	Development, manufacture, and sale of single-occupancy ultralight aircrafts
Website:	https://www.liftaircraft.com

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