A small plane crashed into the CITIC Tower in Beijing on Friday, killing the pilot and injuring 13 others. The crash sent shards of glass and aircraft debris plummeting hundreds of feet down to the streets below, causing panic in the heart of China’s most protected city.

Government Response

The Chinese government quickly censored all mention of the incident from social media, and state media made no mention of the crash. It wasn’t until Saturday that media affiliated with the Beijing government reported the incident, stating that a single-engine double-seat light sports aircraft had collided with a high-rise building, killing the pilot and injuring 13 people.

The incident has raised questions about how the pilot managed to fly over China’s fortified capital, where most of the Communist Party elite live, and where even flying drones is effectively banned. The CITIC Tower, which is 528-meters tall, is a prominent landmark in Beijing and hosts China’s state-owned conglomerate CITIC Group and tech giant Alibaba.

The crash happened on Friday late afternoon during rush hour, and footage shared online showed a small plane crashing into the upper level of the building, sending debris and a tail section of the plane showering down onto the city. Online images showed the plane’s registration code, which seemed to point to a domestically manufactured light sport aircraft, a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, owned by a local general aviation company.

Beijing resident Anna, who wanted only her first name used, said she went to the site after hearing about the crash online. ‘I was just like two stops away… and I saw this post… but it gets deleted soon. So I just came here,’ she said.

The incident has sparked concerns about the safety of China’s airspace and the effectiveness of the country’s aviation controls. The government’s quick censorship of the incident has also raised questions about transparency and accountability in China.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.