Watch the moment a plane collides with another plane at the Japanese airport
The pilots of a Japan Airlines (JAL) plane that caught fire after evacuating its 379 passengers and crew did not initially notice the fire, according to new information released Thursday (4).
The plane collided with a Japanese Coast Guard plane after landing at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Tuesday evening (3). The six occupants of the Coast Guard plane were killed.
Shortly after landing, the passenger plane was hit by a fireball. The flames then spread to the rest of the aircraft.
However, according to public television NHK, the pilots of the JAL flight were unaware of the fire in the cockpit before being informed by the crew.
The chief flight attendant reported the fire on the flight deck and asked for permission to open the emergency exits, the station reported.
1 of 2 Japan Airlines plane catches fire at Tokyo Airport on January 2, 2024 Photo: GloboNews/Reproduction Japan Airlines plane catches fire at Tokyo Airport on January 2, 2024 Photo: GloboNews/Reproduction
Shortly after landing, the plane began to fill with smoke, babies were crying and passengers were begging for the doors to be opened. The evacuation began on two slides in front of the aircraft.
JAL stated that there was only one additional exit in the left tail area that was safe from fire, but internal communications did not work so pilots could not authorize its use.
The flight attendants felt it was urgently necessary for the passengers to exit through the back door and therefore, as trained, opened it without permission.
It took 18 minutes for all passengers to exit the aircraft, with the pilot being the last to exit the aircraft.
Shortly afterwards, the plane caught fire and dozens of fire engines tried to put out the flames, a process that took eight hours.
“I honestly thought I wouldn’t survive. I texted my family and friends that my plane was on fire,” one passenger told NHK.
“Passengers seemed to follow the instructions to the letter,” Terence Fan, an aviation industry expert, told AFP.
2 of 2 Japan Airlines aircraft catch fire at Tokyo Airport on January 2, 2024 Photo: Issei Kato/Kato Japan Airlines aircraft catch fire at Tokyo Airport on January 2, 2024 Photo: Issei Kato/ Kato
Investigators from Japan, France, the United Kingdom and Canada analyzed the accident this Thursday, in which the charred wreckage of both planes lay on one of the runways of Haneda Airport.
Transcripts of air traffic controllers' communications released by the press revealed that the control tower had authorized the landing of the JAL flight.
However, the Coast Guard aircraft was reportedly ordered to head to another part of the runway but failed to do so.