A crash Beijing cannot easily explain
On the evening of June 26, a small aircraft hit CITIC Tower, Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, in the capital’s central business district. The pilot was killed in the crash. The physical damage was limited: Shattered glass, debris falling to the street and a scar on one of China’s most recognisable modern buildings. The political damage is harder to measure.
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What is known is stark enough. Beijing authorities said a single-engine, two-seat light aircraft struck a high-rise building in Chaoyang district at about 5:55pm. The pilot, the only person on board, was killed. Thirteen others were injured and treated. The official statement did not name the building, the pilot, the aircraft operator or the cause. It only said the matter was under investigation.
Flight-tracking and media reporting filled in some of the blanks. Reuters reported that Flightradar24 data identified the aircraft as an Aurora SA60L with the registration B-12PP. The plane had flown from Beijing’s northeastern suburbs before approaching downtown, with tracking ending in Chaoyang, where CITIC Tower stands.
