A small aircraft struck CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, in Beijing on Friday afternoon, sending debris down and prompting evacuations amid a heavy police and emergency response. Footage online showed falling material from the 109-story building, a portio
Friday afternoon in Beijing started like any other until debris began raining down from one of the city’s most visible landmarks.
A small aircraft appeared to have struck the tallest building in China’s capital. CITIC Tower. also known as China Zun. The building is 109 stories tall. Dramatic footage circulating on social media showed debris falling from the tower. along with a tail section of the plane and a broken window of a taxicab on the ground.
Witnesses on the street said the response was immediate. A CNN journalist reported seeing people evacuated from the skyscraper gathering near the entrance, while firetrucks, police cars, and an ambulance moved into position.
Online, images appeared to show the aircraft’s registration code. Those images seemed to point to a domestically manufactured light sport aircraft. a Sunward SA 60L Aurora. owned by a local general aviation company. Unverified flight data posted online also circulated, with Flightradar24 appearing to show a severely deviated flight path for the aircraft.
Authorities were being contacted for information as the scene remained active and emergency vehicles continued to work around the tower.
The timing is a jolt in a city that has recently tightened its airspace. Since May 1, Beijing has been effectively drone-free under sweeping new rules. Residents are not allowed to buy, rent or fly drones without government approval within the city’s sprawling jurisdiction.
The sequence of details—an apparent impact on China Zun. the visible debris and aircraft tail on the street. and then the quick rush of fire and police units—has turned a guarded city into a public spectacle. At the same time. the proximity of the incident to Beijing’s drone restrictions is driving sharper attention to what exactly was flying. how it got there. and whether it followed any of the rules residents are expected to obey.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Beijing CITIC Tower China Zun small aircraft crash evacuation debris Sunward SA 60L Aurora Flightradar24 drone rules
Wait so they banned drones but a plane hit it? Make it make sense.
That China Zun building is like always in photos… so the debris raining down is super scary. I saw the tail section thing and thought it was probably some random drone at first?? But then it says small aircraft so idk.
Flight radar shows it going all over the place, so that means it was totally intentional or hacker stuff right? Also the whole “drone free since May 1” thing… seems kinda connected, like they’re cracking down and then this happens. Could be a test? idk I’m just saying what it looks like.
I don’t get why they’re calling it unverified and developing but posting registrations online already. If it was that Sunward SA 60L, couldn’t it just be that the pilot misread the sky? And why is the taxi window broken, like people were already right there filming? Also Beijing being drone-free doesn’t mean no airplanes, so people are jumping to conclusions.