Small plane – A small aircraft crashed into the Citic Tower, also known as China Zun and Zun Tower, in Beijing on Friday evening, sending debris onto streets in a crowded central business district and triggering a major police response as the number and identity of those hu
BEIJING — A small aircraft slammed into Beijing’s Citic Tower, also known as China Zun and Zun Tower, on Friday evening, breaking windows and scattering debris and what appeared to be plane parts dozens of stories to the street below.
Video footage shared on social media and verified by The New York Times showed broken windows and falling debris from the skyscraper. The footage included what appeared to be the tail of a small aircraft dropping into the streets.
Crowds surged away as people ran for safety. The crash happened in the capital’s busy central business district, where traffic was clogged with cars at evening rush hour. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured, if any. The whereabouts and identity of the pilot were also unknown.
Photos posted from the scene showed damage on the surface of the tower. with debris that appeared to be from a lightweight aircraft. according to posts on social media. The aircraft appeared to be a lightweight model with only a few seats. and it was said to be registered to the airline Shuangyue General Aviation. a regional flight training provider. Calls to the company went unanswered.
Police shut down part of the area near the tower Friday night, with significant presence around the damaged building. Officers closed at least one major road near the building and set up a folding metal grille gate. A police car with flashing lights was parked on the street. High above, bright lights flashed around a hole in the side of the building as repair work got underway.
The Citic Tower — the headquarters of Citic Group, one of China’s biggest state-owned financial conglomerates — was completed in 2018. It can be seen from across Beijing. Across the street from the tower is the headquarters of China Central Television. where nearly 20 police cars were parked Friday night.
In the hours after the crash, people in the neighborhood described the moment they realized something was wrong. An employee of a nearby gym. who identified himself by the surname Zhang. said he was walking with friends when he saw an aircraft hit the tower around 6 p.m. local time. He said a woman with a head injury was later taken away in an ambulance. A worker at a nearby restaurant reported hearing a loud noise around the same time.
Zhang’s account could not be independently verified. Calls to a nearby police station in Beijing rang unanswered, and accounts of injuries remained unclear.
Social media posts about the crash and the building itself appeared to be censored online in China.
A neighborhood resident who gave only his surname, Wang, said he heard loud noises just before 6 p.m. and walked toward the tower. He described seeing a hole in the side of the building that was briefly on fire. Wang said he also saw wreckage of an aircraft at the base of the building. also on fire. and said he could not determine whether there were any casualties before police hurried onlookers away.
An office worker who gave only his first name. Richard. told a Times reporter that he had been in a meeting on a high floor in an office building across from the Citic Tower when he realized something had happened. “I saw some white pieces of paper fluttering through the air. ” he said. adding that he couldn’t see or hear anything else from inside. Richard said he was surprised when he emerged later and found a crowd outside.
Later in the evening, about 200 people had gathered across the street from the Citic Tower, taking pictures. Police were waving people away from entering the street on the east side. The avenue past the south side of the building remained open to pedestrians, bicyclists and motor scooters.
With the damaged tower still sealed off and repairs underway, the biggest uncertainties remained what caused the crash and whether anyone onboard or on the street was hurt.
Beijing Citic Tower China Zun Zun Tower aircraft crash Shuangyue General Aviation police response central business district
How does a plane even get that close to a building like that??
Not sure why they’re calling it a small plane like that makes it better… debris on the street is still debris. People were probably standing there filming too.
Sounds like the pilot was aiming for something, like maybe it was on purpose? I mean the video showed the tail dropping so it’s like they knew where they were going. Also Beijing rush hour traffic… that part feels set up.
So it was registered to Shuangyue General Aviation, right? That’s like one of those training places, so maybe the instructor was in the back or something. But also it says the pilot’s identity is unknown which is confusing. Can’t they just figure it out from the registration faster??