A Pilot Crashed Into Beijing’s Tallest Tower—China Responds With A No-Fly Zone Nearly The Size Of Italy

A 66-year-old pilot flew a small plane into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper in June giving ‘9/11 vibes’ and killing himself and injuring 13 other people. Chinese authorities say he’d written repeatedly about ending his life. Now the government is restricting flying across an area nearly the size of Italy. The crash happened June 26. Now a new, permanent, 600-kilometer wide restricted zone takes effect today. Commercial airline flights are exempt, so Beijing’s airports don’t have to shut down. (Hat tip to Enilria.) At about 5:55 p.m., a Sunward SA60L Aurora struck CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun, in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. The building is 528 meters tall (1,732 feet) and houses the headquarters of the state-owned CITIC conglomerate. The aircraft was a single-engine, two-seat light sport plane, registration B-12PP. The pilot was alone. It had departed an airfield in Pinggu, on Beijing’s eastern outskirts, before heading toward the city. The plane broke apart, sending wreckage and glass down toward the street during the evening rush hour. Falling debris damaged a taxi. People ran, emergency vehicles converged, and roads around the tower were closed. Damage to the building was concentrated around broken facade panels. The aircraft involved seems to be a B-12PP. Online commenters wonder how this could have been possible: "A small plane hit CITIC Tower??? How could something like this happen, what happened to the air defense capabilities in our core restricted zone???" pic.twitter.com/Vy4QTPGvdG — Manya Koetse (@manyapan) June 26, 2026 Authorities say the man was a divorced Beijing resident who lived alone, suffered from chronic insomnia and anxiety, and had written about suicide in his diary. He’d obtained a sport pilot’s license in 2021 and a private pilot’s license in 2024. Police stopped people from taking pictures and ordered some to delete them. Posts about the crash were removed from Chinese social media. China already tightly controls flying over its capital, and many other areas which are restricted to military. After the crash, private pilots elsewhere in the country were being grounded. The permanent restriction spans more than 280,000 square kilometers, including Beijing, Tianjin and much of Hebei, with portions of several other provinces and the Bohai Sea. Commercial airline flights, approved business flights and government and emergency operations remain permitted. They must follow approved flight plans, obtain permission for deviations, maintain radio contact, and carry equipment allowing continuous electronic identification and tracking. Aviation regulators have also proposed broader background checks for pilot license applicants, including student, sport, private and drone pilots. These checks would reach into the activities and criminal histories of close family members. Separate rules taking effect November 15 generally prohibit possessing or storing drones and their core components within the municipality, with specified exceptions. Residents are being offered ways to surrender their equipment or send it out of the city. You won’t even have to take a drone out of its box to run afoul of that rule. Topics on this page