Only then did it become clear what had happened: a small aircraft had crashed into CITIC Tower, also known as China Zun — the tallest skyscraper in Beijing and one of the most recognizable symbols of its business district.
The impact struck the upper part of the glass tower. Damaged panels were left on the facade, while debris fell to the ground below. Footage that quickly spread online showed fragments of the aircraft, damage to the building, and people hurrying away from the scene.
The incident happened at around 6:00 p.m. local time on June 26, 2026 — just as the Guomao district was packed with office workers. Some people were evacuated from the tower, crowds gathered near the entrances, and police, firefighters, and ambulances remained at the scene.
What raised the most questions was not only the collision itself, but the place where it happened. Central Beijing is an area with strict flight restrictions. That is why the appearance of a small aircraft near a skyscraper almost 530 meters tall immediately triggered a wave of concern.
There was no official explanation for the cause of the crash at the time of the first reports. Authorities had not confirmed the exact number of injured people or the circumstances of the flight. According to preliminary information, the debris may have belonged to a light sport aircraft, a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which may have taken off from Shifosi Airfield.
After the incident, some posts on Chinese social media quickly disappeared, while searches for the tower’s name showed almost no fresh results. This only intensified the main question: how did the aircraft end up in such a restricted area, and what happened before the impact?
CITIC Tower remained standing, and there were no reports of serious structural damage. But the collision in the center of one of the most tightly controlled capitals in the world turned that evening into an event people will be talking about for a long time.