A Japan Airlines plane burns on a runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport (THE PICTURES). According to a spokesman for Japan Airlines, the plane destroyed by fire was Flight 516 from Sapporo Airport on the island of Hokkaido. According to initial reconstructions, a collision occurred during landing with a Coast Guard aircraft that was on the runway at Haneda Airport. The latter was a vehicle that was about to leave to provide assistance to the areas affected by yesterday's earthquake. Five Coast Guard members who were missing after the collision have been found, but their condition is unknown. Sources cited in the online edition of the Asahi Shinbun newspaper report that all passengers on board the scheduled flight managed to escape to safety. According to the newspaper, there were 367 people (including 8 newborns) and 12 crew members on board. There is no official confirmation about the fate of the passengers on JAL Flight 516.
The possible dynamics
Videos released by passengers on Flight 516 first show sparks flying from the Airbus as it skids down the runway, and then people emerging from the plane surrounded by smoke. Although the cause of the fire is not yet known, the plane may have started burning after a collision with the Japanese Coast Guard aircraft. “It is not clear whether there was a collision. But it is certain that our aircraft is involved,” a coast guard official told AFP. Television footage showed flames shooting out of the windows and the plane's nose on the ground. More than 70 fire engines were deployed, NHK TV reported.
Investigations initiated
The Japanese Ministry of Transport has ordered the temporary closure of Haneda Airport. Government authorities have launched an internal investigation to determine the causes of the accident. There hasn't been a serious plane crash in Japan for decades. The worst occurred in 1985, when a JAL jumbo flying from Tokyo to Osaka crashed in the central Gunma region, killing 520 passengers and crew.
