Newsletters
Chinese authorities said Thursday that the pilot who died after crashing a small plane into Beijing's tallest skyscraper had struggled with mental health issues and repeatedly wrote about suicide in his diary.
The crash injured 13 people.
The 66-year-old pilot, identified only by his surname Liu, "had long suffered from insomnia and anxiety, and his diary contained multiple references to 'ending his life,'" Beijing's Chaoyang district government said in a statement.
Authorities said the crash was "an incident endangering public safety caused by personal reasons."
Liu was flying alone when he deviated from a designated flight area and lost contact with an airport in Beijing's suburban Pinggu district, the statement said.
He had taken off from a general aviation airport in Pinggu on the afternoon of the incident and completed both supervised and solo flights.
During his final solo flight, Liu "deviated from the designated area and lost contact with the airport" before crashing, authorities said.
He was flying a two-seat, propeller-driven light aircraft.
Liu, a Beijing native who was divorced and lived alone, worked as a freelancer. He obtained a sport pilot license in 2021 and a private pilot license in 2024, according to the statement.
The aircraft struck the 528-meter, or 1,732-foot, CITIC Tower in Beijing's Central Business District at 5:55 p.m. local time Friday.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists at the scene saw a hole in the windows of one of the building's upper floors. Witnesses reported seeing aircraft debris and a small fire at the base of the tower.
The crash raised questions about aviation security in the heavily guarded Chinese capital. CITIC Tower is about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) from Zhongnanhai, the government compound where China's top leaders work.
Photos and videos of the crash were rapidly removed from Chinese social media platforms shortly after the incident.
Police at the scene also prevented journalists and onlookers from taking photographs of the building.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
