Small Plane Crashes into Beijing's Tallest Skyscraper, Authorities Silent
The Chinese government has yet to issue an official statement regarding an incident in which a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest building on Friday (26/6). The incident was documented in photos and videos circulating on social media, with some questioning whether it was purely an accident or a deliberate act.
The incident, as reported by AFP and Reuters on Saturday (27/6/2026), occurred at the CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, which serves as the headquarters for the state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group. The 528-metre-tall skyscraper has 108 floors and is recorded as the tallest building in the Chinese capital.
According to eyewitness accounts given to Reuters, a small aircraft roughly the size of a car crashed into the building, located in Beijing’s central business district, on Friday. Several witnesses reported seeing aircraft debris at the base of the skyscraper, and AFP journalists at the scene observed a hole in one of the upper floors. A photo released by AFP showed damage to two glass panels on an upper floor of the CITIC Tower. Authorities in Beijing have not provided any information about the incident, and it remains unknown whether there were any casualties.
Video footage, recorded by a witness from a nearby building, showed fire engines spraying water onto a small fire on a protruding section of the building near ground level, as well as onto the pavement. Photos from the scene also showed an object resembling part of a small aircraft lying on the ground next to the building. A man who works at CITIC Tower told AFP: ‘I saw debris when I was about to leave. It looked like part of an aircraft.’
A video posted on local Chinese social media, which appeared to show the same skyscraper, depicted debris falling from the building. AFP was unable to immediately verify the video. Police sealed off the streets around the building, with a large number of officers and dozens of patrol cars seen guarding the scene.
Police officers prohibited residents from taking photos and videos at the location and asked those who had already taken images to delete them, while directing people away from the building. One resident said he had recorded a video showing the plane protruding from the building but later deleted it for fear of being caught by the police. Social media posts about the building on Friday were quickly removed from Chinese platforms. A search for the building’s name on the Xiaohongshu app only displayed posts dated Thursday (25/6).
Without an official statement from Beijing authorities, the cause of the plane crash remains a mystery. It is not yet clearly known whether the incident was intentional or purely an accident, especially given that the airspace over central Beijing is highly restricted. ‘I don’t know why the plane flew here. It’s very strange,’ one anonymous witness told AFP. ‘It’s very strange for a plane to fly into this area,’ another witness at the scene told Reuters.