A Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 carrying 379 people narrowly avoided tragedy at Tokyo’s Haneda airport when it collided with a Coast Guard aircraft, resulting in a fire that claimed the lives of five out of six crew members on the smaller plane. The incident occurred on Tuesday, and live footage on NHK showed the JAL airliner, engulfed in flames, skidding down the runway around 6 p.m. (0900 GMT).
Social media shared images and videos capturing the chaotic scene inside the smoke-filled cabin as passengers evacuated via emergency slides. Miraculously, all 367 passengers and 12 crew members escaped the blazing aircraft. However, the fire persisted for over six hours, extinguished shortly after midnight, according to TBS citing the fire department. Seventeen individuals on the passenger plane sustained injuries, with four taken to the hospital, though none were life-threatening.
Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed the tragic loss of five Coast Guard crew members, while the captain of the JAL plane, aged 39, survived with injuries. A ministry official revealed that the JAL plane collided with the Coast Guard’s Dash-8 maritime patrol plane during a normal landing attempt, with no reported issues before the incident.
The Coast Guard aircraft was en route to Niigata to provide aid following a New Year’s Day earthquake that claimed at least 55 lives. JAL stated that they believed the flight had received landing permission, but investigations into exchanges with air traffic control were ongoing.
Passenger accounts highlighted the urgency and effectiveness of the evacuation, with praise for the cabin crew’s quick response. Safety experts, including Paul Hayes of Ascend by Cirium, noted the absence of passengers carrying hand luggage during the evacuation, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing safety over personal belongings.
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Haneda airport was temporarily closed after the accident, impacting flights, but operations resumed on three runways later. JAL’s competitor, ANA, canceled 110 domestic flights at Haneda for the remainder of the day.
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Transport Minister Saito stated that the cause of the collision remained unclear, and investigations involving the Japan Transport Safety Board and other authorities would continue. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed condolences for the Coast Guard crew’s loss and reassured efforts to prevent the accident from affecting earthquake relief supplies’ deliveries.
