Small plane crashes into Beijing's tallest building; China reportedly blocks news

A small aircraft crashed into the CITIC Tower, Beijing's tallest skyscraper, on Tuesday evening, sending debris raining down and prompting an immediate emergency response. The incident occurred around 5:30 PM local time, with the aircraft reportedly disintegrating upon impact.

Eyewitnesses described seeing large amounts of wreckage fall from the sky, with one report mentioning a taxi's window being shattered by flying debris. Office workers were seen evacuating the CITIC Tower in large numbers, gathering outside as emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, police cars, and ambulances, were deployed to the scene. The building was subsequently evacuated.

Online flight registration data suggested the aircraft was a Chinese-made Sunward SA60L Aurora, a light sports aircraft owned by a domestic general aviation company. The plane reportedly took off from Shifo Temple Airport at 5:30 PM and was preparing for landing when it deviated from its flight path and collided with the CITIC Tower. However, official confirmation of these details is pending.

As of Wednesday morning, official sources have not released information regarding the cause of the crash, the condition of the pilot, or whether there were any casualties. Notably, discussions and videos related to the incident on Chinese social media platforms, such as Weibo, appear to have been censored or removed, raising questions about the transparency of information surrounding the event.