The Transport Safety Commission has published an interim accident report regarding the collision incident involving Japan Airlines (JAL) Flight 516 and a Japan Coast Guard plane that occurred at Haneda Airport at around 5:47 p.m. on January 2. The report was issued because it is anticipated that completing the investigation within one year of the accident’s occurrence will be difficult.
On runway C of Haneda Airport, a stationary Japan Coast Guard plane bound for Niigata (Bombardier DHC-8-300, registration: JA722A, with six crew members) collided with a JAL aircraft arriving from Sapporo/Chitose (Airbus A350-900, registration: JA13XJ, with 11 crew members and 367 passengers). At the moment of collision, the JAL aircraft caught fire on its underside and, after skidding, veered off the runway, stopping near the end of the runway on the grass, where the crew and passengers evacuated using emergency exits. The Japan Coast Guard plane was severely damaged in the collision and fire, resulting in the deaths of five crew members and injuries to the captain.
The Japan Coast Guard plane was scheduled to transport disaster relief supplies following an earthquake on the Noto Peninsula on January 1. The JAL crew did not visually detect the Coast Guard aircraft until it appeared suddenly in front of them, almost at the same time as they performed reverse thrust maneuvers upon landing, resulting in a major impact. After the collision, steering and rudder controls became non-responsive. The crew attempted to stop the engines and release fire suppression agents after the aircraft stopped, but the right engine did not shut down, and they were unable to confirm the situation on the cockpit instruments.
The investigation has received information from passengers on the JAL plane and witnesses to the accident. The report states that “The photographs provided contain important information that could not have been obtained through other means in this investigation,” and includes some of these photos. It also added that “Following the cabin crew’s instructions during an emergency evacuation is vital.”
JAL stated, “We would like to once again express our deepest condolences to the families of the Japan Coast Guard officials who lost their lives. We also deeply apologize to our passengers, their families, and all related parties for the distress and inconvenience caused. Today, the Transport Safety Commission has published its aviation accident investigation (interim report). Our company will continue to fully cooperate with the commission’s investigation towards their final report.”
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
