A small light-sport aircraft slammed into the CITIC Tower — Beijing's 108-story, 1,700-foot skyscraper — on the evening of June 26, killing the pilot and sending glass and debris raining onto the streets below. The Sunward SA 60L Aurora took off from an airfield about 30 miles east of the city before striking a high floor of China Zun at 5:55 p.m. local time.
The collision shattered two large glass panels on the tower's facade and spun the plane downward before it crashed in front of the building's main entrance. Police and emergency services blocked bystanders from photographing the scene. Thirteen people on the ground were injured and are receiving treatment; the pilot, the sole occupant, died.
Chinese authorities have not identified the pilot or released a cause. State censors moved swiftly to scrub images and videos from domestic social media, though footage spread internationally before the removal. An investigation is ongoing.