China grounds light aircraft after Beijing tower crash, FT reports

China has grounded flights of private light fixed-wing aircraft after a fatal crash into Beijing’s CITIC Tower, as reported by the Financial Times. The incident occurred on Friday, when the sole pilot aboard a twin-seat aircraft was killed and 13 people were injured on the ground who were not on board. The plane struck the 528-metre (1,732-foot) China Zun building in Beijing’s central business district during the evening rush hour. Authorities issued a nationwide airspace control order covering recreational flights, banning all relevant flying activities, though the restrictions were not publicly announced. Investigators have not disclosed the cause, and Reuters could not independently verify the FT report. The restrictions matter because China’s airspace is tightly controlled, with a permanent no-fly zone of about 100 sq km over Beijing’s political core, and commercial jets routed around dense urban areas.