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Helicopter Crash into Beijing Tower Kills Pilot, Injures 13

6/28/2026

37 7 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

A Sunward SA 60L Aurora registered B-12PP and operated by Shuangyue General Aviation crashed into Beijing’s CITIC Tower at 5:55 p.m. Friday.
The impact killed the pilot, injured 13 people, and led police and fire crews to block roads and evacuate.
The crash hit near the East Third Ring Road in Chaoyang district, creating a hole in the tower’s glass façade that was boarded up.
Authorities said the cause remains under investigation.

History

Historical Context

On 27 March 1977 dense fog forced KLM Flight 4805 and Pan Am Flight 1736 to back-taxi on Tenerife’s Los Rodeos runway after a bomb at Gran Canaria diverted them, leading to a collision that killed 583 people. The tragedy prompted ICAO to require standardized radio phraseology and crew-resource-management training, and forced Spanish authorities to install ground radar at the airport.

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Story summary

A Sunward SA 60L Aurora registered B-12PP and operated by Shuangyue General Aviation crashed into Beijing’s CITIC Tower at 5:55 p.m. Friday.
The impact killed the pilot, injured 13 people, and led police and fire crews to block roads and evacuate.
The crash hit near the East Third Ring Road in Chaoyang district, creating a hole in the tower’s glass façade that was boarded up.
Authorities said the cause remains under investigation.

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