On Sept. 27, 2025, popular Chinese aviation influencer Tang Feiji, 55, died during a livestream, crashing his ultralight aircraft with hundreds of viewers witnessing the event on popular Chinese social media platform Douyin.
Televised Fatality
Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, is a popular streaming service that hosts approximately 760 million active users daily.
Feiji’s stream captured the accident, initially depicting the influencer sitting airborne in his aircraft, and later showing a blaze after the impact, with viewers commenting, “save him” and “call emergency services”.
His Douyin account had over 100,000 followers, and although many of his accounts were switched to private, to prevent public from further witnessing the crash. The footage was widely shared across several other platforms.
The Aircraft
The influencer has already been involved in two minor accidents involving the same aircraft in 2024, involving fuel gauge malfunctions and resulting in falls of less than 30 feet each time.
Allegedly bought for £36,500 last year, the Ultralight Singleseat Coaxial Rotor Helicopter weighed 113 kilograms and could reach 2,000 feet with speeds above 60 miles per hour.
Although Feiji boasted a mere six hours of practice flying the aircraft before the incident, allegedly mastering the aircraft as he told his followers, he was not wearing a helmet or a parachute at the time of the crash.
His family were informed and arrived at the scene after the crash.
This highlights the dangers and importance of safety when using aircraft. Investigations into the cause of the crash are ongoing.
