China says man who flew plane into Beijing skyscraper had mental health problems | China
The man who crashed a small plane into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper last week was a 66-year-old man with mental health issues, Chinese officials said.
The statement issued Thursday offered the most detailed official account yet of the highly unusual incident that occurred in Beijing’s central business district on the evening of June 26.
Beijing has some of the world’s strictest aviation control policies and planes are rarely seen flying over the capital. Drones and light aircraft are prohibited from flying over the city without permission.
However, a small propeller plane crashed into the China Citic tower, Beijing’s tallest building and the headquarters of the state-owned financial services group. The tower is about 8 km (five miles) from the Zhongnanhai compound where leader Xi Jinping lives.
Thursday expression In the statement made by the Chaoyang regional administration, where the Citic tower is located, it was stated that the pilot was a man with the surname Liu, 66 years old, divorced, living alone, and who received a private pilot license in 2024.
In the statement, it was stated that it took off from the general aviation airport in Pinggu district, east of Beijing, on the afternoon of the incident. “During independent flight, he deviated from the designated area and lost connection with the airport, and then crashed into a high-rise building and died at the scene,” the statement said.
Authorities said Liu suffered from chronic insomnia and anxiety and repeatedly wrote about “ending his own life” in a diary. “A thorough investigation concluded that this was a case that endangered public safety for personal reasons,” the statement said.
Authorities reported that 13 people were injured in the accident and their injuries were not life-threatening.
China has suffered a series of attacks in recent years dubbed “revenge against society”; deadly attacks carried out by people driven to breaking point by personal grievances. Authorities are reluctant to acknowledge such incidents, and when they do, the perpetrator is often described as an isolated, unstable person.
On the night of the plane crash in Beijing, there was a heavy police presence around the China Citic tower and officers instructed people not to take photographs. Authorities did not release any official statement about the crash until nearly 24 hours later.
Although photos and videos initially circulated on social media, many were quickly deleted. A search for terms related to the China Citic tower or the plane crash on the social media platform Weibo on July 3 revealed only posts unrelated to the incident.
A search for “Plane crashed into Citic tower” revealed a related post from July 2: “The most ridiculous news I heard today… [a person] A plane crashed into the Citic building… where did you get that from? “There is no such thing.”
