Beijing plane crash: Chinese pilot had written about ‘ending his life’, says official probe

Investigation attributes high-rise crash to personal circumstances

The government of China’s Chaoyang district, in a social media post, said its investigation into the reason behind the crash that took place on June 26 concluded that it was “personal reasons”,  the Associated Press reported.

A small plane crashes into a 109-story skyscraper in Beijing, sending debris down the building’s side.

Local reports say the pilot Liu Junhua was conducting a solo flight in the local airspace, took off from Shifosi Airport at 17:30, and at 17:40 prepared to return for landing.… pic.twitter.com/drmOgMvQ9E

— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 26, 2026

The government identified the pilot as a 66-year-old man, surnamed Liu, who died after flying a single-engine, two-seater propeller plane into a high-rise building, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

Assessment of structural casualties and hospitalisations

The government added that the crash led to 13 people getting wounded, though no one had life-threatening injuries, and one of the injured has been discharged from the hospital.

Security breaches and information control in the capital

The development comes after the small plane evaded one of the world’s strictest aviation controls and crashed into the 109-storey CITIC Tower on Friday around 6 pm (local time) that dominates Beijing’s skyline.

飞机撞击中信大厦时的现场画面 https://t.co/ITl78RJtzr pic.twitter.com/9MgtFBMzYK

— 李老师不是你老师 (@whyyoutouzhele) June 26, 2026

A CNN report stated that the incident was “strictly censored” in China and the authorities took nearly 24 hours to acknowledge the crash.

Flight disruption and path deviation over the business district

The report added that Liu received his first pilot licence in 2021. He was flying solo on the day of the incident and diverged from the designated track, losing contact with the airport before crashing into the CITIC Tower, which is 528-meter tall.

The skyscraper is located in Beijing’s Central Business District that houses major international companies and foreign embassies.

Psychological factors and official legal classification

Officials said Liu wrote multiple references in his diary to “ending (his) life” and was a self-employed divorcé who used to live alone and suffered from chronic insomnia and anxiety.

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The investigation into the case concluded that the incident was about endangering public safety caused by personal reasons, the government statement added.