Overview
- A small light-sport aircraft hit the upper façade of the 528-meter CITIC Tower (China Zun) in Beijing’s Guomao financial district, forcing an immediate evacuation and a large police, fire and ambulance response.
- Video and eyewitness images from the scene showed a hole in the glass façade, falling debris and parts of the plane, including a tail section that landed on the street below.
- Open-source flight trackers and aviation databases identified the aircraft as a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, registration B-12PP, and showed a deviated flight path with its transponder stopping shortly before impact.
- Chinese officials gave no immediate public details on victims or the cause and domestic social posts about the crash were scarce or removed, complicating verification of on-the-ground reports.
- Investigators will focus on how the plane entered restricted Beijing airspace and on the pilot, aircraft operator and technical data, and the incident highlights tightened city rules since May that limit light-aircraft and drone operations.