Beijing investigating rare light aircraft crash which killed pilot, injured 13

BEIJING: A light aircraft crash into Beijing’s tallest building on Friday killed the pilot and injured 13 people who were not on board, the local government said following the unusual accident for the Chinese capital, where airspace is heavily restricted.

Those injured are receiving medical treatment and authorities are investigating the incident, Chaoyang district government said in a statement on Saturday.

“A single-engine, two-seat light sport aircraft collided with a high-rise building while flying near the East third ring road in Chaoyang, at 5:55 p.m. (0955 GMT) on June 26,” said the statement, which was posted on social media.

“There was only one person on board, the pilot, who died,” the statement added, without giving any further details of the possible cause of the crash.

Damage to the exterior of the skyscraper appeared to be limited to a hole caused by the loss of two large glass panels. The gap had been temporarily boarded up as of Saturday.

The 528-metre-high building, known as CITIC Tower or China Zun, is in Beijing’s Central Business District, about 6 km (3.7 miles) from the Forbidden City, which is visited by thousands of tourists each day.

It is also near Zhongnanhai, a compound that houses the offices of China’s top political leadership. The last aircraft crash in Beijing was in 2022, when a tourist helicopter crashed during a flight between the Changping and Fangshan districts, killing the two pilots on board.

Pictures posted on social media in China in the aftermath of Friday’s crash showed debris from the plane and the identifier B-12PP. Reuters could not immediately verify the images.

Data from global flight tracking service provider Flightradar24 reviewed by Reuters showed an aircraft with registration number B-12PP was in the air at around 5:30 p.m. (0930 GMT) on Friday in Beijing’s northeastern suburbs.

It flew in a wide circle before heading in the direction of downtown Beijing, about 50 km away, the Flightradar24 data showed. Tracking then stopped at 0955 GMT, with coordinates showing it already in the downtown Chaoyang district.

The aircraft was a small two-seat, single-engine light-sport Aurora SA60L made by China’s Sunward, Flightradar24 data shows.

An aircraft matching the registration number was shown as being owned and operated by Beijing-based Dongshi Shuangyue General Aviation, a promotional video published by the company in 2024 on Chinese social media showed.

The Financial Times, citing a person with knowledge of the incident, reported that the aircraft belonged to the company.

Reuters could not immediately ascertain if the company owned and operated the aircraft when the crash occurred or if the pilot involved was affiliated with the company.

A Dongshi Shuangyue General Aviation employee contacted by Reuters on Saturday said she was not sure whether B-12PP belonged to the company, without providing further information.

The company video, which was removed from the social media account on Friday evening, said a 30-minute sightseeing tour out of the small Shifuosi airport would cost 880 yuan ($129).

The company offers low-altitude sightseeing flights, hands-on flight experience programs and aviation training in the suburban Pinggu district, about 50 km from downtown Beijing.