Official reports released on Thursday indicate that the pilot responsible for crashing a light aircraft into Beijing’s tallest building did so due to personal grievances. Authorities identified the man as a 66-year-old Beijing resident named Liu, who suffered from chronic anxiety and sleep deprivation.
According to the Chaoyang district government, Liu was a divorced freelancer living in isolation. His personal journals reportedly included several entries detailing intentions to take his own life. The investigation categorized the incident as a deliberate act that endangered public safety.
The crash resulted in the death of the pilot and left 13 other individuals injured, one of whom has since been released from medical care. While footage of the collision at the CITIC Tower initially spread across social media platforms, officials eventually removed the content as they examined the security failure associated with the event.
