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Plane hits CITIC Tower
A small aircraft crashed into CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, in Beijing’s central business district on Friday, with social media videos showing debris falling from the 109-story building.
“Small plane crashes into Beijing's tallest skyscraper The plane struck into the Citic Tower before falling down and crashing”
The BBC said the aircraft was the size of a car and that firefighters were seen extinguishing a fire in the tower, while it also reported that it was not known if there were any casualties and there had been no immediate comment from authorities.
AP reported that Flightradar24 confirmed the crash and that the Sunward SA 60L Aurora took off from an airport about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Beijing and ended just east of the East Third Ring Road shortly before 6 p.m. in local time.
The Washington Post described CITIC Tower as a 109-story building in Beijing’s business district and said social media videos showed debris falling from the tower after the crash.
AeroTime put the impact at around 18:00 local time and said the aircraft hit the upper section of the 528-meter tower, while also noting that Chinese authorities had not issued an official statement and that the number of people on board and whether anyone was injured had not been confirmed.
Scrubbed footage, police cordon
Multiple outlets described how footage and information about the crash circulated online and then disappeared, with ABC News saying videos, images and search results about the crash were actively being scrubbed from the Chinese internet.
AP said social media posts about the crash have been scrubbed from China’s walled-off internet, though footage made its way outside of China’s firewall and was circulating on overseas sites such as X.com.
South China Morning Post reported that a woman surnamed Lin was urgently evacuated from the building at 6pm and said, "I ran out without my ID card or bag," while describing police cordoning off roads and dispersing the crowd.
Reuters was cited by the South China Morning Post as reporting that police cordoned off the roads surrounding the site and dispersed the crowd, maintaining a heavy police presence around the skyscraper.
AP added that onlookers gathered to observe and take pictures, but police asked them to stop photographing and leave the area, as a heavy police presence and fire engines and ambulances were seen outside the building.
What’s at stake next
While authorities had not issued a statement, several reports tied the crash to Beijing’s tightly controlled aviation environment, with AeroTime saying flight operations require prior approval and airspace is tightly controlled.
“Small aircraft crashes into Beijing’s tallest building, according to flight tracking service Small aircraft crashes into Beijing’s tallest building, according to flight tracking service TAIPEI (AP) — A small aircraft crashed into Beijing’s tallest building on Friday, the global flight tracking service provider Flightradar24 confirmed, following witness accounts and evacuations in the city’s business district”
Forbes reported that Ian Petchenik, a spokesman for FlightRadar, told the Times the plane that crashed "is normally used for pilot training east of Beijing" and that Friday’s flight was "out of character," adding, "I don’t think we can rule anything out at this point."
AP said there was no immediate information on whether there were any on-ground casualties and that Chinese authorities have not issued a statement, nor has the crash been reported by state media.
NPR, via the Associated Press, said the cause of the incident was not immediately clear and that authorities have not issued a statement on the incident, even as heavy police presence, fire engines and ambulances were seen outside the skyscraper.
AeroTime also said the crash raised questions about how a light aircraft reached central Beijing, and it noted that it was not immediately clear whether the aircraft was operating on an approved flight plan or whether it had deviated from its route.
