Beijing: Pilot flies small aircraft into city's tallest skyscraper and dies – 13 injured

What is known about the pilot

The Citic Tower, also known as China Zun, is Beijing's tallest building at 528 metres. The crash site is located in the immediate vicinity of the headquarters of Chinese state television CCTV, known for its square architecture as the "big pants", and only a few kilometres from the Forbidden City as well as the government complex and power centre of the Communist Party, Zhongnanhai. "Der Unglücksort liegt ganz in der Nähe der für ihre quadratische Architektur als ‚große Hose‘ bekannten Zentrale des chinesischen Staatsfernsehens CCTV und nur wenige Kilometer von der berühmten Verbotenen Stadt sowie dem Regierungskomplex und Machtzentrum der Kommunistischen Partei, Zhongnanhai, entfernt", reads a description of the area.

According to the authorities, the pilot died on impact. Thirteen other people were injured; according to official information, they are now out of danger. Eyewitnesses filmed the moment of impact, with the date "29 June 2026" visible in the upper right corner of the video — that is the Monday, three days after the actual incident on Friday.

Motives and background

Beijing's Chaoyang district authorities stated on Thursday that the pilot had intentionally steered the aircraft into the skyscraper "for personal reasons". They are basing this also on entries from his diaries. "In seinen Tagebüchern sei außerdem der Ausdruck ‚das Leben beenden‘ aufgetaucht", the authorities of the capital district of Chaoyang explained. The man had also suffered for a long time from insomnia and anxiety.

In a statement, it was said that the 66-year-old pilot — whose surname is also given as Liu — had suffered from "sleep disorders and depression" and that with the act, by which he had wanted to commit suicide, he had also deliberately endangered others. The authorities also pointed out that the man "mit der Tat, mit der er Suizid habe begehen wollen, auch andere vorsätzlich gefährdet" habe.

The airspace over Beijing

How unusual the incident is becomes clear when looking at the airspace situation in China. The centre of the mega-city is a no-fly zone controlled by the military, in which flights are only possible with authorisation. Even in China, where air corridors are in any case controlled so strictly that even large commercial aircraft often have to fly bizarre, "angular" routes and detours across the country, this is an unusual situation. Beijing is considered a particularly heavily monitored city.

After the incident, the communist leadership imposed nationwide flight bans for light aircraft, according to media reports. Even during a check of "Flightradar24" on Thursday, no flights with small aircraft could be observed, with the exception of several flights near the city of Minyang. The measure underscores the sensitivity of the incident in an already strictly regulated airspace.

Authorities' response

On the ground, police initially sought to play down the scale of events. The Financial Times reported from the scene that police justified the cordons around the skyscraper with "routine traffic measures" that had no specific reason. It was only with the statements on Thursday that the full extent of the incident came to light.

Among the open questions remains how the small aircraft was able to enter the central airspace at all. By now, the aircraft registration (B-12PP) is known, as is a name allegedly linked to the accident. The authorities announced further investigations without naming a date for their completion.

The report by Alfred Schmit from the ARD studio Shanghai also pointed to the pilot's psychological state. The man had long suffered from insomnia and anxiety, it was said. The diaries containing the expression "das Leben beenden" pointed to a deliberate decision. This also brings to the fore the question of whether warning signs in his surroundings were recognised.

Open questions

Beijing is a metropolis with around 20 million inhabitants. The fact that a light aircraft was able to penetrate all the way into the heart of the city to the tallest building raises questions about the effectiveness of airspace monitoring. Experts point out that the strict regulation of Chinese airspace had previously been regarded as almost watertight.

For relatives, eyewitnesses and helpers, the telephone counselling services in Austria and Germany offer anonymous help around the clock. In Germany, it can be reached at 0800/111 0 111 or 0800/111 0 222, in Austria at 142; the Ö3-Kummernummer can be reached anonymously daily from 4 pm to midnight at 116 123. For children and young people there is the number 116 111; in Switzerland, the telephone counselling service can be reached free of charge and anonymously around the clock at 147.

Support services for psychological distress

The authorities emphasised at the same time that the ongoing investigations covered both the flight path clearance and the pilot's state of mental health. The security precautions in the airspace would be reviewed and tightened where necessary, it was said from the Chaoyang district.