The pilot who died after crashing a small plane into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, injuring 13 people, had mental health problems and had written about suicide in his diary, authorities said Thursday.
66-year-old man flew a light aircraft on the CITIC tower 528 meters (1732 feet) in Beijing’s Central Business District on Friday at 17:55 (0955 GMT).
The plane crash raised questions about aviation security in heavily guarded Beijing, with the CITIC skyscraper about seven kilometers from Zhongnanhai, the government complex that houses China’s top leaders.
AFP journalists at the scene had seen a hole in the windows of one of the upper floors of the building, with witnesses reporting the wreckage of the plane and a small fire at the base of the tower.
The pilot, surnamed Liu, was divorced, lived alone in Beijing and “had long suffered from insomnia and anxiety, and his diary contained numerous references to ending his life,” the capital’s Chaoyang county government said in a statement.
“This was an incident that endangered public safety caused by personal reasons,” he added.
Liu was self-employed and had obtained a sport pilot’s license in 2021 and a private pilot’s license in 2024, according to the statement.
On the afternoon of the incident, Liu took off from a general aviation airport in Pinggu District and conducted supervised and solo flights, the statement said.
During his last solo flight, Liu “deviated from the designated area and lost contact with the airport” before the crash, he added.
He was flying a light two-seater propeller plane.
Chinese social media quickly scrubbed photos and videos of the plane crash shortly after it happened, while police at the scene stopped reporters and onlookers from taking pictures of the building.
