A passenger plane burst into flames as it landed at a Tokyo airport Tuesday, after a collision with a coast guard aircraft that killed five people, officials said.
All 379 passengers and crew were able to make it out of the Japan Airlines plane, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said at a news conference. The coast guard pilot escaped but five crew members were killed, he added.
The coast guard aircraft was going to fly earthquake relief to Niigata prefecture on the country’s west coast after a series of strong tremors killed at least 48 people and left widespread damage, Saito said at a news conference. There was no immediate information about the cause of the incident, he said.
Last updated Jan 2, 11:20 UTC; this post is superseded here
JAL flight 516 (registration JA13XJ) Airbus A350-900 from Sapporo to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport collided while landing with a coast guard aircraft JA722A De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315Q MPA “Dash-8” that belonged to Haneda Air Base, which was awaiting departure to Niigata with aid following the New Year’s Day Earthquake.
All 367 passengers and 12 crew members escaped the passenger plane, while five people on the coast guard plane were still unaccounted for, NHK reported.
The pilot of the coast guard aircraft had evacuated and contacted officials.
CNN reports that 17 passengers on board JAL516 were injured.
A later press statement from Japan Airlines SVP Noriyuki Aoki clarified that “only four” passengers went to hospital for “feeling unwell,” of which two for smoke inhalation, while the pilots are now being interviewed about the final moments of the flight. Eight children were among the 367 passengers.
Regarding JA722A, CNN reports:
Five crew members died on the second aircraft, a De Havilland Canada DHC-8, according to Japan’s transport minister, Tetsuo Saito. Public broadcaster NHK said the plane’s captain was in a critical condition.
Airbus has also issued a statement that a team of Airbus investigators are joining the French BEA and Japanese JTSB.
Impressive write up here with pics and links. Thanks for your work!
All 379 passengers and crew were able to make it out
That’s remarkable.
We’ve gotten so much better at airplane evacuations over the years. The HEAVILY REGULATED airline industry is a masterclass in actually learning from tragedy.
Edit: Christ Almighty, I’ll split the hair, you guys.
Was it the airline industry or was it regulations and every country unanimously coming together to create and support said regulations? Because I feel like the airline industry would cram us in to the passenger bay like luggage and the regulatory agencies say that certain aisle space and chair space needs to be given for a safe and orderly evacuation.
Airlines don’t care if you make it off the plane in one piece.
It’s the regulatory bodies doing all the safety heavy lifting and ensuring airlines and airframe manufacturers follow the rules.
Airlines do care if a plane is out of service or totalled.
It’s manufacturers who benefit if it is.
Since the jet was already touched down and slowing when it collided, they were able to deploy the air ramps and get everyone off very quickly. Fire gutted the aircraft after it was emptied.
Video from inside the plane immediately after the accident showed only a small amount of smoke in the cabin. Everyone did their job and everyone survived.
Good thing it happened in Japan. Here people would have burned with the plane arguing over who gets to get out first.
I think you mean trying to get their fucking luggage and shit. Cause my clothes are more important than living, apparently.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
All 379 passengers and crew were able to make it out of the Japan Airlines plane, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said at a news conference.
Dramatic footage from the Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed plumes of orange fire and black smoke engulfing the passenger jet as it landed at Haneda Airport in the country’s capital.
The Transport Safety Board will investigate the incident immediately, he said in a joint news conference with coast guard officials.
NHK reported the plane was JAL Flight 516, which had taken off from New Chitose Airport in the northern Japanese region of Hokkaido at 4:15 p.m. local time (2:15 a.m.
Yoshio Seguchi, an official from the coast guard, expressed his condolences to everyone impacted by the incident.
“May the souls of those who lost their lives rest in peace, and extend I my deepest condolences to the bereaved family.”
The original article contains 408 words, the summary contains 144 words. Saved 65%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
Interesting design issue when the nose gear collapses, the bow slide deploys at a very shallow angle making for slow descents. While the stern slides are at a very steep angle, looking pretty scary to jump down.
There are up to 8 slides on a 350, and it appears they deployed
43 - skipping the midship slides that were in the engines-on-fire and still spinning zone.They deployed three slides: the starboard rear exit could not be used because the number 2 engine was not able to shut down and was spraying sparks.
Thx
