Light plane crash into Beijing skyscraper prompts flight school safety checks

A light sport aircraft crashed into Beijing's tallest skyscraper on Friday, killing the pilot and injuring 13 people. The incident prompted authorities to order flight schools across China to suspend training and undergo safety inspections.

The two-seater plane struck the building near the East Third Ring Road. The Chaoyang district government confirmed the pilot's death and the number of injured in a statement released Saturday. No passengers were on board the aircraft.

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Once this civilian aircraft deviated from its flight path and headed towards the city, its speed would have been very high, leaving little reaction time for air traffic control and air defence identification.

The crash occurs as China promotes the "low-altitude economy," a sector encompassing activities below 1 kilometer, such as drone flights. This development raises security questions for the burgeoning industry.

Li Wei, director of the Centre for Counter-Terrorism Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, noted the limited reaction time for air traffic control and air defense. He explained that identifying the aircraft's intent would be difficult, especially if its transponder was switched off, potentially classifying it as a threat and creating a dilemma for authorities on how to respond.

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Identifying the aircraft’s “intent” would have been difficult, he said, and if it could not be done because the transponder was switched off then the plane would have been seen as a threat – but how to handle that posed a dilemma.