Published on 6/27/2026
Chinese authorities announced on Saturday that a pilot was killed and 13 injured after a small plane crashed into a building in the Chaoyang district of the capital, Beijing, on Friday.
Chaoyang County authorities said, in a statement on the WeChat platform, that the light sports plane collided with a skyscraper near the Eastern Third Ring Road on Friday evening, resulting in human casualties, confirming that the injured were receiving medical care.
The statement did not specify the name of the building or the identity of the pilot, who the authorities reported was the only person on board the plane, or whether the injured were in or outside the building at the time of the collision.
In turn, the “Flight Radar 24” website, which tracks global flights, revealed that the plane collided with the “CITIC Tower”, also known as “China Zone”, which is 528 meters high and consists of 108 floors. The tower is one of Beijing’s most prominent urban landmarks and the tallest building in the city.
The website also published on social media the path of the plane, a Sunward SA60L Aurora, which took off from an airport located approximately 50 kilometers east of Beijing towards the west, before ending up east of the Eastern Third Ring Road.
Pictures circulating from the accident site showed the effects of the collision with the glass facade of one side of the CITIC Tower.
The cause of the accident is not yet clear, while the authorities confirmed that investigations are still underway to uncover its circumstances.
