A plane crashed into the 109-story CITIC Tower, the tallest building in Beijing, on the evening of Friday June 26.
The craft killed the pilot and injured 13 people in a rare and disturbing incident that raised questions about security in the tightly restricted Chinese capital.
The aircraft was a single-engine, two-seat Aurora SA60L sport plane. It hit the 528-meter skyscraper around 5:55 p.m. local time near the Eastern Third Ring Road in Chaoyang District.
The skyscraper known as China Zun is located in Beijing’s central business district, about 6 km from the Forbidden City and near Zhongnanhai, the complex housing China’s top political leaders.
Authorities confirmed that only the pilot was on board and that he died in the crash. Additionally, around 13 people were injured.
For now, the cause of the crash remains under investigation, raising concerns due to Beijing’s notoriously tight controls of airspace.
Operation of any aircraft in the capital must be authorized by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
Flight tracking information provided by Flightradar24 reveals that the plane, marked as B-12PP, took off from Shifosi Airport, located in Pinggu district, east of Beijing, and made a wide circular motion to head towards the city center, which is about 50 kilometers from its starting point. Flight tracking ended in Beijing’s Chaoyang district.
The plane belonged to Beijing-based Dongshi Shuangyue General Aviation, a company offering sightseeing tours and flight training.
