A light sport aircraft crash into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, the CITIC Tower, kills the pilot and injures 13 people on the ground, Chinese authorities say. The Chaoyang district government reports the pilot was killed when the two-seater plane struck the building near the East Third Ring Road on Friday. There were no passengers on board, and the injured are receiving treatment, according to the district statement cited by multiple outlets.
In the aftermath, authorities tell flight schools to suspend training and carry out safety inspections, Reuters and other reports link this response to broader concerns over low-altitude flight activity. Separate reporting also says a preliminary investigation summary released later identifies the pilot, a 66-year-old Beijing resident, and describes mental health-related information from the pilot’s diary, including references to “ending his life,” though the crash’s exact cause is not fully established in the coverage.
Multiple outlets describe the incident as rare and note that police and district-level statements provide most confirmed details, while early accounts from witnesses and imagery are mentioned without changing the confirmed casualty figures.
