Plane Crashes into Skyscraper in Beijing, China: Pilot Had Personal Reasons

A small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on 26 June, killing the pilot, the sole occupant, and injuring 13 others. Chinese authorities broke their silence on Thursday, stating the pilot who flew the light aircraft into the CITIC Tower had ‘chronic insomnia and anxiety disorders’ and acted for ‘personal reasons’. The pilot, identified only by his surname Liu, was a 66-year-old Beijing resident who worked freelance, was divorced, and lived alone, according to a statement from the Chaoyang district government. The statement added that Liu’s diary contained ‘many expressions of a desire to end his life’. ‘A thorough investigation concluded this was a case of endangering public safety caused by personal reasons,’ the statement read. Officials said one of the injured had been discharged from hospital. On the afternoon of the incident, Liu flew the plane from an airport in Pinggu District, undertaking a companion flight and a solo flight. ‘During his solo flight, he deviated from the designated area and lost contact with the airport, then crashed into the high-rise building and died at the scene,’ the statement said. Liu obtained a sport pilot licence in 2021 and a private pilot licence in 2024, according to authorities. Before Thursday, Chinese officials had remained silent on the incident. A 60-word report containing basic facts in the state-run Beijing Daily was the only official statement published about the crash, which occurred just a few kilometres from Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the Communist Party. The crash on Friday created a hole in the side of the 109-storey CITIC Tower, which has since been covered with boards. Dramatic footage of the incident was scrubbed from the internet. At least three aviation companies told the BBC they had been instructed to suspend light aircraft operations but declined to elaborate, saying they were ordered not to discuss the matter. ‘We were told not to talk about it. Please ask someone else,’ a woman at a Beijing flight training school said. Another company in Chengdu refused to name the authority that issued the instruction and abruptly ended the call. Amid the information vacuum, speculation mounted over how the plane could penetrate a city with some of the world’s strictest airspace controls. Censorship is nothing new in China, but this time it extended beyond the usual targets. Photos and memes of the skyscraper, unrelated to the incident, were also removed from Chinese social media platforms. The plane was an Aurora SA60L, a single-engine, two-seat aircraft manufactured by Chinese company Sunward Aircraft, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24. Measuring 6.9 metres long with an 8.6-metre wingspan, it is designed for sightseeing, aerial photography, and recreational flying. Outside China, the incident reminded some of the 9/11 attacks. Beijing enforces a permanent no-fly zone of about 100 square kilometres over the core government area, encompassing Tiananmen Square and Zhongnanhai. China analyst Bill Bishop called the incident a ‘major security breach’, noting it was ‘just seconds of flying time’ from Zhongnanhai. Beijing has also recently tightened drone regulations, citing security concerns. Raymond Kuo, vice president of research at the Chicago Council of Global Affairs, said the fact a small plane could fly across much of the city and approach Zhongnanhai was ‘politically embarrassing and a major security lapse’.