TAIPEI — A small aircraft crashed into Beijing’s tallest building on Friday, the global flight tracking service provider Flightradar24 confirmed, following witness accounts and evacuations in the city’s business district.
In a social media post, Flightradar24 posted the flight path of the plane, a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off from an airport about 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Beijing. It headed westward and ended just east of the East Third Ring Road shortly before 6 p.m. in local time. The flight data provider said the plane crashed into the CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, which rises more than 1,700 feet (528 meters), just east of a major ring road in a cluster of skyscrapers.
The 108-story CITIC tower, shaped like an ancient Chinese wine vessel, is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in Beijing.
It wasn’t immediately known what caused the crash in a city with strict airspace controls, including a recent ban on drones. Information on the pilot also was not immediately available. There was no immediate information on whether there were any on-ground casualties.
Chinese authorities have not issued a statement, nor has the crash been reported by state media. Social media posts about the crash have been scrubbed from China’s walled-off internet, though footage has made its way outside of China’s firewall and is circulating on overseas sites such as X.com.
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.
Photos by The Associated Press show what appears to be a hole in the glass facade on one side of the CITIC Tower.
A person working in the building told AP that an aircraft crashed into the skyscraper, and a fire alarm was triggered. The person spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. Incidents such as crashes are considered sensitive by Chinese authorities.
A heavy police presence, as well as fire engines and ambulances were seen outside the building. Onlookers gathered to observe and take pictures, but police asked them to stop photographing and leave the area.
Last month, Beijing authorities enacted new curbs on its already tightly regulated airspace, effectively banning the sale and operation of consumer drones within the capital.
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Associated Press writers Didi Tang in Washington and Josh Funk in Omaha, Neb., contributed.
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