On Friday afternoon, a small plane bypassed the world’s toughest aviation regulations and crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, the 109-story CITIC Tower that dominates Beijing’s skyline, killing the pilot and injuring 13 others.
The accident caused panic in the heart of China’s most sheltered city, with broken glass and aircraft debris falling hundreds of feet onto the road below as office workers departed for the weekend.
After a while, it was as if nothing had happened.
All references to the incident and the shocking footage have been removed from Chinese social media. The government initially did not publicly acknowledge that any incident had occurred. State media, including state broadcaster CCTV, whose headquarters are across the road from the accident site, have made no mention of the incident.
That’s thanks to the work of China’s censorship army and Communist Party authorities’ relentless control over information, especially regarding events deemed likely to bring negative attention or consequences.
The lack of information left many unanswered questions for those who witnessed the event or saw reports of it. For most of the day, it was unclear how many people were injured in the incident.
On Saturday afternoon local time, Beijing government media reported that a “single-engine, two-seat light sports plane collided with a high-rise building during flight,” killing the pilot, the only person on board, and injuring 13 others. The incident is said to be “under investigation.”
It is still unclear whether the crash was accidental or intentional.
Perhaps most concerning for authorities, it also raises questions about how the pilots were able to fly over China’s fortified capital, where much of the Communist Party’s elite lives and where even drone flights are effectively banned.
Plane crashes into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper
The CITIC tower has a height of 528 meters (equivalent to 1,732 feet). It has become Beijing’s tallest building since 2018 and dominates the skyline.
Home to the Chinese state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group and high-tech giant Alibaba, the surrounding area is a prime location in Beijing and frequented by foreigners and diplomats. Embassies from countries ranging from the UK to Vietnam are just around the corner, as are major global financial giants such as the World Bank and IFC’s China office.
The accident occurred late Friday afternoon during rush hour. Footage shared online in the brief hours before censorship began showed a small plane crashing into the upper floors of the building, also known as Chinazun, with debris and the plane’s tail section raining down on the city.
An online image showing the plane’s registration code appears to show a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, a domestically produced light sport aircraft owned by a local general aviation company that provides services such as pilot training, personal recreational flights and aerial photography.
CNN saw crowds evacuated from the high-rise building gathered on the street near the entrance, along with fire engines, police cars and ambulances.
Anna, a Beijing resident who asked that only her first name be used, said she learned about the accident online and went to the scene.
“I was just two stops away…saw this post…but it gets deleted pretty quickly. So that’s why I just came here.”
The footage subsequently went viral on social media outside of mainland China.
Domestically, a search for “Beijing plane crash” on Weibo, China’s version of X, yielded no relevant results.
In response to incidents that appear to have the potential to destabilize social stability, Chinese authorities generally quickly censor or block information and deploy large numbers of police.
Roads near the CITIC Tower were closed on Saturday and police were deployed around the scene. Only those who could prove they worked in the area were allowed entry. According to a CNN reporter, the delivery drivers were stuck outside, waiting for an employee to come and pick up their orders.
Unverified flight data from Flightradar24 posted online appeared to show the plane deviated significantly from its flight path after taking off from Beijing’s Shifo Temple Airport.
Flying light aircraft in Beijing requires approval from both the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. Last month, the Chinese government enacted sweeping regulations that effectively ban casual recreational flights and consumer drones.
In China, an official information vacuum can persist for years after a deadly, large-scale incident.
More than four years after a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 crashed in Guangxi, killing 132 people, the worst air disaster in decades, the Chinese government has yet to provide an official explanation.
Joyce Jiang and Fred He contributed reporting.
