Children could be heard screaming and begging for their lives as bright flames ripped across the outside of the Japan Airlines plane that crashed into a Coast Guard plane on the runway at Haneda Airport yesterday.
But the crew of JAL Flight 516, an Airbus A-350 carrying 367 passengers that turned into a fireball in the collision, had to keep cool to save as many lives as possible.
Their exemplary work in saving every single person on board has amazed the world, and experts have praised the crew for calmly using their rigorous training to save hundreds of lives.
But experts also praised the fact that the passengers had “behaved well” in the face of pure terror.
“In none of the videos I have seen do I see a single passenger on the ground with their luggage,” Professor Ed Galea, director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich, told the BBC.
Children on board can be heard screaming as flames engulf the plane from outside
Video footage of the crash shows passengers throwing themselves down the slide with little effort and making sure everyone got out quickly
All 379 passengers miraculously escaped from the Japan Airlines plane after being safely evacuated
Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigators inspect the area around the Japanese Coast Guard plane that collided with a Japan Airlines passenger plane at Haneda Airport
“If people tried to take their carry-on luggage with them, that would be really dangerous because they would slow down the evacuation.”
The inferno quickly engulfed the aircraft and made evacuation extremely difficult.
Only three of the inflatable slides could be used, but even these could not be extended properly because the nose of the plane collapsed.
But video footage of the crash shows that passengers threw themselves down the slide without much effort, making sure everyone got out quickly.
The crew was also forced to use a megaphone to calmly but clearly convey instructions to frightened passengers after the built-in tannoy system broke in the fire.
The video shows two crew members trying to get the tannoy system working again as children cry and plead for their lives.
Several current and former aviation industry experts told the BBC on Tuesday that Japan Airlines' rigorous training measures had helped save lives.
Horrifying footage from inside the plane shows passengers covering their faces and struggling to breathe as the cabin filled with smoke following the fire
This aerial photo shows the burned-out Japan Airlines plane at Haneda Airport
New crew members are required to complete up to three weeks of evacuation and rescue training before being allowed to take part in commercial flights.
This training is repeated once a year to ensure that it is remembered by crew members.
“We complete a written exam, case study discussions and practical training based on various scenarios, such as when the aircraft has to make a water landing or when there is a fire on board.” “Such training also involves maintenance personnel,” said a former flight attendant who runs the company left ten years ago on the condition of remaining anonymous.
Today, for any passenger aircraft to be internationally certified, aircraft manufacturers must demonstrate that it is possible for anyone to exit a plane within 90 seconds, with tests sometimes carried out with real passengers.
Aviation accidents have often been one of the main reasons for innovations in safety technology and procedures.
A Japan Airlines plane is engulfed in flames after colliding with a Coast Guard plane on the ground at Tokyo's Haneda Airport
The aircraft was destroyed by fire shortly after the crash
Haneda Airport was closed almost immediately after the incident
A Japan Airlines plane crashed in 1985, killing 520 people. To date, it remains the deadliest single aircraft accident in history.
The crash woke up the Japanese aviation industry and Japan Airlines in particular wanted to ensure that something like this never happened again.
In 2005, the company realized that many were there without even remembering the fatal crash, so the following year it opened a museum displaying wreckage from the incident near Haneda Airport Aim to remind his employees of the deadly consequences of doing a bad job.
“Given the pain and grief of those left behind and the public distrust in the safety of airlines.” [after the 1985 crash]“We have vowed that we will never allow such a tragic accident to occur again,” Japan Airlines wrote on the facility’s website.
“All employees are reminded that in our work we are entrusted with valuable lives and property.”