This photo provided by Jiji Press shows a Japan Airlines plane on fire on a runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2, 2024. (Photo by Jiji Press / AFP)
All 379 people aboard a Japan Airlines Co. flight managed to escape after the Airbus jetliner burst into flames following a collision with a smaller plane as it touched down at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
Passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the Airbus A350-900, an airline spokesperson said. Five of the six crew on a Japanese coast guard plane that collided with the bigger jetliner have died, according to the government.
Footage from the airfield outside the Haneda airport building appeared to show the Airbus jet colliding with the other aircraft just after touching down after dark, then skidding on in a trail of flames. The JAL jet could be seen tilted forward with a collapsed front landing gear, flames licking from its windows and smoke billowing over the fuselage as fire services battled the blaze.
Japan Airlines evacuates all 379 passengers after plane fire#Japan #JapanAirlines #HanedaAirport https://t.co/pdShd2UOCA pic.twitter.com/ygOcBbaELB
— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) January 2, 2024
Later footage showed the entire aircraft entirely engulfed in a massive blaze, suggesting the plane is damaged beyond repair. The widebody jet was carrying 367 passengers and 12 crew. Broadcaster NHK said that at least 17 people on JAL plane were injured.
Flight JL516 took off from New Chitose airport near Sapporo at 4:27 p.m. local time, according to FlightRadar24. The two-year-old A350 landed at Runway C at Haneda Airport at 5:47 p.m.
Airbus said it was in contact with the airline but had no further information at this time. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered an investigation into the collision and to spur aid to the possible victims.
Japan Airlines operates a fleet of 16 A350-900s, seating either 369 or 391 passengers, that it operates in so-called high density domestic configuration. The carrier has been flying the type since 2019.
The advanced A350 is Airbus’s flagship aircraft that entered into service in 2015, equipped with fuel-efficient Rolls Royce Trent XWB engines and a lightweight, carbon composite fuselage. JAL has also ordered the larger A350-1000 model.
The aircraft would be the first A350 hull to be destroyed by an accident. The smaller coast-guard aircraft, a De Havilland Canada Dash 8, was carrying aid to the earthquake-hit parts of Japan following Monday’s quake that toppled buildings in the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s northwest coast.
The incident at Haneda, which is Japan’s busiest airport, occurred as authorities rush to provide aid to victims of Monday’s massive earthquake, with local governments calling for supplies of water, food and other necessities.
On-ground impacts between aircraft are rare and damage is typically minor because collisions tend to happen during slower taxiing. The worst disaster in aviation history happened during a ground collision in 1977, when two Boeing 747 jumbo jets collided on the runway at Los Rodeos Airport on the Spanish island of Tenerife, killing 583 people.
Haneda Airport has not suffered a fatal aircraft accident since February 1982 when a McDonnell Douglas JAL crashed near the airfield into Tokyo Bay, resulting in the death of 24 of the 174 people on board, according to the Aviation Safety Network.
The hub was closed after Tuesday’s accident. FlightRadar24 shows about 170 flights scheduled to arrive at Haneda on Tuesday evening either canceled or diverted to airports including Tokyo Narita airport.
"We aim to reviver flight operations at Haneda as soon as possible” Tatsuo Sato, minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, said Tuesday evening at a briefing.
