Small plane crashed into Beijing high-rise, killing pilot and injuring 13

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - June 27, 2026 06:46 pm IST - Beijing The damaged exterior of CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, in Beijing, China June 26, 2026. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov | Photo Credit: Maxim Shemetov Chinese authorities on Saturday (June 27, 2026) said a small plane that crashed into a building in Beijing the day before had killed the pilot and injured 13 others. The authorities of the Chaoyang district, a vibrant business area, said a two-seat light sport aircraft collided with a high-rise building near the East Third Ring Road at 5:55 pm on Friday (June 26, 2026) and caused the casualties. The short statement on WeChat did not identify the building or the pilot, who the authorities said was the only person on the craft. The global flight-tracking service provider Flightradar24 on Friday (June 26, 2026) said the plane crashed into the CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, which rises more than 1,700 feet (528 metres), just east of a major ring road in a cluster of skyscrapers. The 108-storey CITIC tower, shaped like an ancient Chinese wine vessel, is one of the most recognisable skyscrapers in Beijing and is the tallest building in the city. Flightradar24 posted on social media the path of the plane, a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off from an airport about 50 kilometres east of Beijing. It headed westward and ended just east of the East Third Ring Road. Associated Press photos showed on Saturday (June 27, 2026) apparent marks of the crash on the glass facade on one side of the CITIC Tower. A hole there had been covered up. It was not immediately known what caused the crash in a city with strict airspace controls, including a recent ban on drones. An investigation is underway into the situation, the authorities said. It was also unclear whether the injured were in the building or were hit by debris, but the statement said they were receiving treatment. The CITIC tower is just a roughly 20-minute drive from Zhongnanhai, a former imperial garden that now serves as headquarters of China's top leadership, and a 15-minute drive from the Forbidden City, a popular tourist attraction. Social media posts about the crash were scrubbed from China's walled-off internet on Friday (June 26, 2026), though footage has made its way outside of China's firewall and is circulating on overseas sites such as X.com. A report by financial news platform Caixin about the crash's casualties soon became inaccessible on Saturday. Chinese authorities consider such incidents to be a sensitive matter. Images and videos shared on social media appeared to show debris from a small aircraft near the skyscraper. While the images were consistent with the location, it was not possible to independently confirm their authenticity. One image of the wreckage shows a partial registration number of “B-12.” The full registration number of the aircraft is B-12PP. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft was operated by Shuangyue General Aviation, an apparent reference to Dongshi Shuangyue (Beijing) General Aviation, whose website was not accessible on Saturday. The firm provides services ranging from private pilot training to aerial sightseeing tours, said an online platform citing official data. SA 60L is a product of Starair Aircraft, based in China's central Hunan province. According to Starair's website, the single-engine aircraft accounts for more than 70% of China's light sports aircraft market and has been exported to Australia and the United States. Its maximum cruise speed is 220 kilometres per hour and its maximum takeoff weight is 600 kilograms (1,322 pounds), the website said. Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and l

Small plane crashed into Beijing high-rise, killing pilot and injuring 13

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Small plane crashed into Beijing high-rise, killing pilot and injuring 13

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