A DHL cargo aircraft struck an unidentified object after being forced to abandon its landing at Germany’s Leipzig Halle Airport (LEJ) because a drone carrying an explosive device had been found beside the runway. The freighter diverted to Hannover Airport (HAJ), where inspectors discovered minor damage to its forward section. Authorities are investigating whether it hit a second drone, as well as the connection between the two events.

The incident began shortly before midnight on August 4, when a group taking an organized nighttime bus tour reportedly spotted a quadcopter hovering near parked Ukrainian Antonov AN-124 transport aircraft. According to German newspaper DIE ZEIT, the tour guide approached the drone and pushed it to the ground. An improvised device designed to explode or ignite was subsequently found attached to it.

Tour Group Discovers Explosive-Laden Drone

Credit: Rovaniemi Airport

The tourist bus was passing through the airport’s secured cargo area at approximately 11:40 PM when members of the group noticed the small drone. It was hovering near four parked Antonov heavy-lift freighters operated by Ukraine’s Antonov Airlines. These have operated from Leipzig since Ukrainian airspace closed following Russia’s invasion in 2022. They are used to transport outsized commercial, humanitarian and military cargo, including missions conducted for NATO members through the Leipzig-based SALIS strategic-airlift program.

Unaware of the explosive threat, the tour guide reportedly forced the hovering aircraft down to the ground. A device roughly the size of a tin can was later found attached to it, and described by German authorities as being “intended either to detonate or catch fire.” Police and explosives specialists were called, while the airport activated its established drone-response procedures.

Investigative reporting by NDR, WDR and the Süddeutsche Zeitung later said that traces of PETN and Semtex, two powerful high explosives, were detected during the testing of the device. The detonator had apparently become separated or torn away, potentially explaining why the device did not explode.

Reuters reports that all operations at the airport were subsequently suspended while explosives specialists deployed a bomb-disposal robot and examined the area. The southern runway was closed, and arriving aircraft were instructed to hold, divert or discontinue their approaches. Authorities said a total of 19 cargo aircraft and one passenger flight were affected. The northern runway reopened after around two hours, but the southern runway remained unavailable during evidence collection.

Boeing 757 Strikes Unknown Object During Go-Around

Credit: DHL Group

One of the aircraft on final approach to Leipzig as the runway was closed was a DHL Boeing 757-200 (registration D-ALEU), arriving from Marseille Provence Airport (MRS). Leipzig is the most important airport in the DHL global network, handling more than 2,500 metric tons of freight each day, and able to sort approximately 150,000 shipments every hour. Because DHL’s European network is built around tightly timed overnight arrivals, sorting and departures, even a relatively brief closure can affect shipments across dozens of countries.

With the runway closed, the crew of the 757 initiated a go-around at about 1,000 feet, applying power and climbing away from the field. The Aviation Herald reports that during that climb, at an altitude of approximately 1,300 feet, the aircraft collided with an unknown object. Saxony’s authorities have called it a “presumed second unidentified flying object,” rather than confirming that it was another drone.

The pilots decided to divert, and continued approximately 130 miles northwest to Hannover and made an unscheduled landing about an hour after the go-around. Inspectors subsequently found slight damage around the aircraft’s forward section, although no injuries to the crew were reported. Investigators are now attempting to identify the object, find any associated debris, and determine any links to the drone with the explosive device.

Germany Treats Incident As A Professional Hybrid Threat

Credit: Shutterstock

The Dresden General Prosecutor’s Office, the Central Office for Extremism in Saxony, and the state criminal police have taken over the investigation. Saxony Justice Minister, Constanze Geiert, described Leipzig Halle as critical infrastructure, and said protecting flight operations and determining who was responsible were now the authorities’ highest priorities:

“Attacks on this critical infrastructure must be prosecuted with the full force and severity of the law.”

Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said an explosive-carrying drone reaching airport property represented a new level of danger. He described the incident as a possible professional hybrid operation, arguing that preparing the drone and explosive device required specialist expertise. “Such threat situations are not carried out by amateurs,” he said, while stopping short of blaming Russia or any other government.

The caution is significant because Leipzig was previously linked to a suspected Russian sabotage operation. In July 2024, an incendiary parcel caught fire at DHL’s logistics center before it could be loaded onto an aircraft. German officials later connected that device and similar packages sent through European cargo networks to Russian intelligence proxies.

Unauthorized drones were already a persistent problem at Leipzig. German air navigation provider DFS recorded 18 drone-related incidents there during the first half of 2026, placing it fourth among German airports behind Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and Bremen Airport (BRE). The government has since expanded counter-drone coordination, but Leipzig was reportedly still waiting for dedicated detection equipment. Which leaves the most troubling fact unchanged: the explosive-laden drone was brought down not by an interception system, but by an airport tour guide.