The pilot of the plane that crashed into a building in Beijing had intended to commit suicide

The pilot who died in the small plane crash into Beijing’s tallest building had mental health problems and intended to commit suicide.

The Chaoyang district government in Beijing today said the pilot surnamed Liu, 66 years old, “had suffered from insomnia and anxiety for a long time”. “His diary has many passages mentioning wanting to ‘end his life,'” Trieu Duong officials said.

Mr. Liu, a resident of Beijing, on June 26 piloted a Sunward SA60L Aurora light aircraft into CITIC Tower, the tallest 109-story building in the Chinese capital. The incident caused people working in the building to evacuate.

Photos of the scene showed some glass panels of the building were damaged, debris and the tail of the plane fell to the foot of the building. Fire trucks, police cars and ambulances were also deployed to the scene.

Mr. Luu died in the incident, 13 people were injured but their lives were not in danger.

According to officials, Mr. Liu is a freelance worker, divorced and lives alone. He was granted a sport pilot license in 2021 and a private pilot license in 2024.

On the afternoon of the incident, he controlled the plane to take off from an airport serving aviation activities in Binh Co district, east of Beijing.

“Initially, Mr. Liu flew with a supervisor accompanying him, then took off alone. During the single flight, he left the designated operating area and lost contact with the airport before the plane crashed into the skyscraper,” the announcement on the investigation results read.

“The incident was determined to be an act that endangers public safety due to personal reasons,” the Trieu Duong district government said.

Pinggu suburban district is located near the border with Hebei province and Tianjin city, about 70 km northeast of CITIC Tower. Trieu Duong district authorities did not explain why the plane could fly from Binh Coc into one of the most sensitive and densely populated areas of the capital.

Pilot schools across China said this week they had been asked to suspend flight training and conduct safety checks.