A plane crashed into the 109-story CITIC Tower, Beijing’s tallest building, on Friday evening, June 26.
The craft killed the pilot and injured 13 people in a rare, disturbing incident that raised questions about safety in China’s heavily restricted capital.
The aircraft was a single-engine, two-seat Aurora SA60L sport aircraft. It hit the 528-metre-long skyscraper around 17:55 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 the Zhongnanhai, the building that houses China’s top political leadership.
The officials confirmed that only the pilot was on board and died in the crash. In addition, around 13 people were injured.
Right now, the cause of the crash remains under investigation, raising concerns because of Beijing’s notoriously tight airspace controls.
Operating any aircraft in the capital must be approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.
The flight tracking information provided by Flightradar24 reveals that the plane, which was marked as B-12PP, took off from Shifosi Airport located in Beijing’s eastern Pinggu district and flew in a wide circular motion to fly towards the center, which is about 50 kilometers away from where it started. The flight tracking ended in the Chaoyang District of Beijing.
The plane was owned by Beijing-based Dongshi Shuangyue General Aviation, a company that offers sightseeing tours and flight training.
