A small plane smashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper on Friday evening, sending debris tumbling into the city's central business district moments after the 108-storey tower was evacuated.
The Sunward SA60L Aurora light aircraft – a two-seat, single-engine sport plane – struck the side of the CITIC Tower, known locally as the China Zun, leaving two windows shattered but the building largely intact. The tail of the plane, identified as a B-12PP, was found lying on the road as smoke rose from smouldering wreckage.
“Plane hits Beijing's tallest tower; Chinese censors immediately delete footage and order witnesses to delete images.”
Police had arrived before the crash, which happened around 6pm local time, and evacuated the tower, which houses Citic Group, one of China's biggest state-owned financial conglomerates. But despite the mass evacuation and debris falling onto the capital's streets, Chinese media made no mention of the incident on Friday evening.
Social media photos were heavily censored and people who took pictures at the scene were ordered to delete them. A courier who was nearby described the crash as “louder than fireworks” and told Reuters he had shot a video of the aircraft sticking out of the building but later deleted it because he was scared of getting caught by police. A police officer also told journalists to leave the scene; when one asked why, the officer said: “We all know why.”
The aircraft reportedly deviated from its flight path after taking off from Shifosi Airport half an hour earlier. It was due to turn around and return to the airport at 5.45pm, but flight monitoring lost tracking signal around Beijing's East Fifth Ring Road. After this, the aircraft could not be reached and moments later hit the skyscraper, which stands at 1,732ft and was completed in 2018.
A witness told The New York Times he saw a woman with a head injury being taken away in an ambulance. A woman identified only by her surname, Lin, said she was evacuated from the building, adding: “I ran out without my ID card or bag.”
The skyscraper is located just a few kilometres from Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party's leadership compound. Dennis Wilder, former head of China analysis at the CIA, said Xi Jinping would “instantly presume the worst” about the incident.
The crash comes amid strict restrictions in the capital, where drone use has been heavily curtailed since May under new rules requiring official approval for their operation. The cause of the crash remains unknown, with the pilot reportedly flying solo.