2.7.2027
A Chinese pilot with mental issues on Thursday crashed his light aircraft into a Highrise building in Beijing, killing himself and injuring others.
The pilot identified only by surname as Liu died on the scene after crashing the into CITIC Tower in Beijing’s Central Business District Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, injuring 13 people. According to Chinese authorities, he had mental health issues and had written about suicide in his diary.
The pilot was divorced, lived alone in Beijing and “had long suffered from insomnia and anxiety, and his diary contained multiple references to ‘ending his life'”, the capital’s Chaoyang district government said in a statement.
“This was an incident endangering public safety caused by personal reasons,” it added.
Liu worked as a freelancer and had obtained a sport pilot license in 2021 and a private pilot license in 2024, according to the statement.
On the afternoon of the incident, Liu took off from a general aviation airport in suburban Pinggu district and conducted both 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, it added.
He was flying a two-seat propeller-driven light aircraft.
Chinese social media was rapidly scrubbed of photos and videos of the plane crash shortly after it took place, while police at the scene stopped journalists and onlookers from taking pictures of the building. With AFP
Scene of the crash...