An inquest has ruled that a five-year-old boy died after climbing through a "compromised" 15th-floor window and jumping because he believed he could fly. Aalim Ahmed, who had autism, fell from a kitchen window at a temporary social housing flat in Plaistow, east London, in the early hours of 16 May 2024, while his family slept. The coroner found the window's tilt-and-turn mechanism was faulty, allowing the boy to open it and climb out, though he stopped short of ordering a report to prevent future deaths.

Assistant Coroner Ian Wade, sitting at East London Coroner's Court, said Aalim's autism made him "incapable of making reliable judgments about his personal safety and abilities" and that he climbed onto a chair, then the windowsill, before leaping out in the "naïve belief" he could fly or come to no harm. His mother, Sahra Osman, had repeatedly complained to Newham Council about the windows opening too wide and not having a key to lock them, while a council-appointed engineer said the window was functioning correctly when inspected in December 2023. Mr Wade concluded the flat's height was not the key issue, but the compromised window was, and Newham Council said it was "grateful" for the coroner's thorough hearing of a "tragic accident".