Feroze
Trusted Member
Still a horrible accident even if the aircraft was the size of a car.Size of a car![]()
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Still a horrible accident even if the aircraft was the size of a car.Size of a car![]()
www.chinadaily.com.cn
Still a horrible accident even if the aircraft was the size of a car.
WTF they even allowed small planes to fly near the outskirts of the Capital. The small planes are the most prone to malfunction and crash.![]()
Breaking | China confirms death of pilot in Citic Tower plane crash
District authorities say that only one person was in the two-seater light aircraft at the time of the incident.www.scmp.com
China confirms death of pilot in Citic Tower plane crash
District authorities say that only one person was in the two-seater light aircraft at the time of the incident
The pilot of a light sport aircraft that hit Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday died.
In a statement on Saturday, the Chaoyang district government said that only the pilot was in the two-seater plane when it hit Citic Tower.
In addition, 13 people were injured in the incident.
The statement, issued after hours of silence, said the crash took place at 5:55 pm Saturday and that the circumstances surrounding the crash were still under investigation. It did not name the building and only referred it as a skyscraper near to the East third ring road.
The incident triggered the building’s evacuation and scattered debris across the Chinese capital’s central business district.
Hong Kong media
![]()
Translated:
A small plane reportedly crashed into the east side of the CITIC Tower in Chaoyang District, Beijing, on Friday evening (26th). The fuselage broke apart, crashed, caught fire, and emitted thick smoke. The glass facade of the CITIC Tower was damaged, and people inside were evacuated. On Saturday afternoon (27th), Beijing's Chaoyang District government issued a statement saying that at 5:55 PM on Friday, a single-engine, two-seat light sport aircraft collided with a high-rise building near the East Third Ring Road in Chaoyang District. The pilot, the only person on board, died, and 13 people were injured at the scene. The injured are currently receiving intensive care. The relevant authorities are further investigating the incident. However, the statement did not mention the name of the building involved.
Previously, data from a flight tracking website circulated online, indicating that the small aircraft involved took off from Beijing Pinggu Shifosi Airport at 5:30 PM on Friday, originally scheduled to return 10 minutes later, but suddenly deviated from its flight path and lost signal near the East Fifth Ring Road in Beijing. Witnesses stated that the small aircraft was about the size of a car.
![]()
Online reports show that the wreckage of the small aircraft bore the registration number "B-12PP," and the model was a domestically produced light sport aircraft, the "Aurora SA60L," belonging to Dongshi Shuangyue (Beijing) General Aviation Company. The "Aurora SA60L" is a two-seat aircraft, weighing approximately 590 kg, with a wingspan of approximately 8.5 meters. Dongshi Shuangyue (Beijing) General Aviation Company provides services such as aerial sightseeing, performance flights, and license training.
Foreign media reported that police cars and fire trucks were parked near the CITIC Tower after the incident, and traffic control measures were implemented. Police officers prevented people from taking photos in the direction of the building. On Saturday morning, police continued to block the streets leading to the CITIC Tower and searched the belongings of people entering the surrounding streets. When asked why the streets were blocked, a police officer stated there was no particular reason, only traffic control.
CITIC Tower, located in the Central Business District of Chaoyang District, Beijing, is the headquarters of CITIC Group and currently the tallest skyscraper and city landmark in Beijing. With 108 floors above ground and a total height of 528 meters, it is the tallest building in Beijing. Its architectural design is inspired by the ancient Chinese wine vessel "zun," earning it the nickname "China Zun."
I just beat President Xi. It's been over 1 week since I got back from China. This is the first time I stayed for a month in China and didn't get sick.China tourism industry that targets overseas Chinese needs a major overhaul. The first two times I went to China I got a cold exactly after 1 week in. And I was still coughing phlegm three weeks later on the return flight home.
Now, I'm averse to traveling to China thru any kind of tour package you book with a travel agent in North America. It's the group meals that's the main source of infection. Everyone on the shared van to the HSR station or airport after the first week was showing symptoms of being infected.
Most Chinese restaurants in China don't share the same concept of hygiene as the Chinese restaurants in North America. In North America, if you eat as a group, they always provide extra chopsticks and spoons for you to get the food from the shared plate onto your own plate. You never use your own chopsticks nor spoon to get the food onto your own plate. That's just gross.
In China, they expect you to use the same chopsticks that's been in your mouth already covered in your own saliva to get food from the shared plate. They don't have the concept that there should be two kinds of chopsticks and spoons often of different colors or shapes: the personal ones and the shared ones.
After they catch a cold in the first week of their month long stay in China, most overseas Chinese are scared to book any subsequent trips to China that involves group meals together with other overseas Chinese.
In essence, most tour package tourists to China are usually noobs that don't know better. The veterans will simply shun this channel to drive China's tourism industry. This is a problem China needs to address at the national level, if they want repeat business not just from overseas Chinese that on their first time to China.
If you must travel to China. Avoid prebooking tour packages at all costs. Go free style and book your own hotels. Eat only with other family members not forced together with some 10-20 other overseas tourists at the same dining table. When you spend 3/4th of the time in China dealing with a preventable cold instead of enjoying yourself, what is even the point of traveling to China?
China cleaned up her act when she's hosting a major international (sports) events (ie. no dog meat, no gross sounding delicacies). Why can't she do something simple for her tourism industry by mandating all tour packages to book only state-sponsored restaurants that serve individual meals to their clients instead of group meals?
WTF they even allowed small planes to fly near the outskirts of the Capital. The small planes are the most prone to malfunction and crash.
Shouldn't such small scale aviation activities be located in some remote region?
www.forbes.com
![]()
America 250: China Will Enjoy A Big Day In The U.S. On July 4th, Too
“It’s going to be a blockbuster year for the fireworks industry,” says American Pyrotechnics Association Executive Director Julie L. Heckmanwww.forbes.com
America 250: China Will Enjoy A Big Day In The U.S. On July 4th, Too
ByRussell Flannery,
Jun 30, 2026, 05:17pm EDTJun 30, 2026, 07:31pm EDT
![]()
Fireworks lit up the sky in New York during the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks show on July 4, 2025. Fireworks used in the U.S. are largely imported from China. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
July 4th will be a big day for celebration among millions of Americans owing to the 250th anniversary of the nation’s independence. It will also be a particularly happy day for the U.S. fireworks industry, many of whose members are family owned and have been in the business for generations. Revenue from consumer fireworks sales is likely to rise to a record $2.5 billion as individuals spend more on anniversary fun, according to an estimate by Julie L. Heckman, executive director the American Pyrotechnics Association, or APA, a leading fireworks industry group.
“I think we’re going to see a big surge,” Heckman said in a recent interview. “We are anticipating with America 250, it’s going to be a blockbuster year for the fireworks industry, both on the consumer side and with more first-time users. The fourth falls on a Saturday, which also is always good for the consumer side. And you’re going to see an increase on the (aerial) display side as well, because every show is going to be bigger than it’s ever been before. Everything is going to be bigger, bolder, better,” she predicted. A hot spot to watch out for: Washington, D.C., which is expected to host the largest fireworks display in its history.
Ironically, China – widely seen as a big economic and geopolitical rival of the U.S. – will also have a big day in the country on July 4th. It supplies for 70-75% of aerial display fireworks sold in the U.S.; for consumer fireworks, it holds an even larger 90% share, according to APA estimates.
Revenue will grow this year despite continuing – though lower -- Trump administration tariffs on Chinese fireworks. “Even if we wanted to, we certainly couldn’t bring manufacturing back to the U.S. in any volume or capacity to replace what China produces for us,” Heckman said. “China has perfected fireworks manufacturing, in particular for the U.S. market. They manufacture to our specifications. And that's not something that you can shift very easily. There isn't any change in the works either,” said the leader of the 280-member industry group. “It's an excellent partnership.”
“It’s going to be a blockbuster year for the fireworks industry,” says American Pyrotechnics Association Executive Director Julie L. Heckman.
Fireworks sales that rose modestly in the 2010 decade got a big boost during Covid. Spending on consumer fireworks nearly doubled between 2019 and 2020, according to APA figures, and hasn’t fallen back to pre-Covid levels since.
“Everything was shut down. You couldn't go to a movie theater or a ballpark or a concert or a fair. For some reason, Americans went out and started purchasing fireworks on Memorial Day weekend. And they just didn't stop. All year they were purchasing fireworks to the point that the industry for the first time pretty much depleted their supply, which is very rare,” she said
Trump’s tariffs of as much as 145% on Chinese imports last year raised havoc. “Last year, it was all about the tariffs, “ said Heckman. "This fireworks industry always faces multiple challenges, and has learned to weather and prepare for these challenges,” however, she added.
One industry member hurt last year was Seattle-based United Pyrotechnics, which distributes fireworks imported from China. “We were affected by the fact that we shipped out less last season” from China, said Vice President Herb Chan. “The good news is that we had the factories continue making the product. We just basically stored them in China. And so it kind of relieved the supply issue this year, because a lot of that inventory was able to be shipped out early” with tariffs now down to lower levels, he said.
United Pyrotechnics’ strategy was representative of the industry as a whole, Heckman said. “At the time that the tariffs hit the all-time high of 145%, most U.S. companies told their China suppliers to hold their shipments and wait until the tariffs come down. And thankfully, they had enough product. That product was able to get on the water for the U.S. for this fourth of July. So tariffs really have not had a major impact on the price of fireworks this year. Retailers have tried to do their best to manage the cost to make it so that it would not really have an impact on the consumer.”
Fireworks spending and trends in any given U.S. state always depend on local laws, though some trends this year are predictable, she noted. This year, “we're going to see more patriotic packaging. The colors will be more patriotic. The names of devices will be more patriotic. That's part of the marketing. That's going to be a big draw for this 4th of July.”
What is the same as ever is the family culture of the U.S. industry, Heckman said. “It's a community -- very family-oriented industry, in particular because they are all multi-generational family businesses. The fireworks industry is very passionate about what it does. They bring communities together to celebrate.”
Those multigenerational ties also hold when it comes to in China sourcing. “Those relations translate from next-generation big display companies in the U.S. having to the same generational relationships with the factories in China,” she said.
Flying into the fireworks industry skyline in new ways, however, are drones. “Drones can certainly enhance a firework show. I have been reading more articles about the America 250 firework shows and drones being combined, so I think that will continue,” Heckman said.
“Yet drones in and of themselves only hold your attention for about 60 seconds, whereas fireworks are a multisensory experience,” she believes. "You visually see the colors, you can feel them in your chest. If you’re lucky enough, you're going to be able to smell the smoke. It's a multisensory experience."
Like Heckman, Chan said drone shows will make progress but won’t displace fireworks. “They have great technology, and they’ve created great opportunities for certain cities and municipalities who don’t want the noise of fireworks. But that being said, I personally think fireworks deliver a better sensory experience," he said.
“When you get good choreographed music to fireworks, that feeling is great. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience fireworks shows at a much closer vantage point than certain spectators because I worked on certain shows. When you get to the finale and all of those shells are breaking at the same time, you just feel it in your body. That’s just a great feeling. I think drones and fireworks can coexist," Chan believes.
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.