Plane crash at Beijings tallest skyscraper kills pilot and injures 13, authorities say
Chinese authorities on Saturday said a small plane that crashed into a building in Beijing the day before had killed the pilot and injured 13 others.The authorities of the Chaoyang district, a vibrant business area, said a two-seat light sport aircraft collided with a high-rise building near East Third Ring Road at 5:55 p.m.on Friday and caused the casualties.The short statement on WeChat did not identify the building or the pilot, who the authorities said was the only person on the craft.The global flight tracking service provider Flightradar24 on Friday said the plane crashed into the CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, which rises more than 1,700 feet, just east of a major ring road in a cluster of skyscrapers.The 108-story CITIC tower, shaped like an ancient Chinese wine vessel, is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in Beijing and is the tallest building in the city.Flightradar24 posted the flight path of the plane, a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off from an airport about 30 miles east of Beijing, on social media.
It headed westward and ended just east of the East Third Ring Road.On Saturday, photos by The Associated Press showed apparent marks of the crash on the glass facade on one side of the CITIC Tower.A hole there had been covered up.It was not immediately known what caused the crash in a city with strict airspace controls, including a recent ban on drones.An investigation is underway into the situation, the authorities said.It was unclear whether the injured were in the building or were hit by debris, but the statement said they were receiving treatment.Social media posts about the crash were scrubbed from China’s walled-off internet on Friday, though footage has made its way outside of China’s firewall and is circulating on overseas sites such as X.com.
Incidents such as crashes are considered sensitive by Chinese authorities.Images and videos shared on social media appeared to show debris from a small aircraft near the skyscra...