The Transport Safety Commission has published a progress report on the collision accident between Japan Airlines (JAL) Flight 516 and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft that occurred at Haneda Airport around 5:47 PM on January 2nd. The investigation is expected to take longer than one year from the date of the accident, hence the decision to release an interim report.
On the C runway of Haneda Airport, the Japan Coast Guard aircraft (a Bombardier DHC-8-300, registration JA722A, with 6 crew members) which was stationary, collided with the landing JAL aircraft (an Airbus A350-900, registration JA13XJ, with 11 crew members and 367 passengers) from Sapporo/Chitose. Simultaneously with the collision, a fire broke out beneath the fuselage of the JAL aircraft, which then veered off the runway after landing, stopping in the grass near the end of the runway. Both crew and passengers evacuated the aircraft. The Coast Guard aircraft was severely damaged in the collision and fire, resulting in the death of 5 crew members and injuries to the pilot.
The Coast Guard aircraft had been planned to transport disaster relief supplies following an earthquake on the Noto Peninsula on January 1st. According to the JAL aircraft’s crew, they did not visually detect the Coast Guard aircraft until it suddenly appeared in front of them just as they were performing reverse thrust operations upon landing, causing a significant impact. After the collision, steering and rudder controls were inoperative, and though attempts were made to shut down the engines and release fire-suppressing agents after the aircraft came to a stop, the right engine did not shut down, and the situation could not be verified on cockpit instruments.
The investigation has received information from passengers on the JAL flight and eyewitnesses. The report noted, “The photographs provided contain important information that is difficult to obtain by other means in this investigation,” and some were included in the report. It also added, “It is important to follow the cabin crew’s instructions during an emergency evacuation.”
JAL stated, “We would like to again express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased Japan Coast Guard personnel. We deeply apologize to our customers, their families, and all involved for the profound distress and inconvenience caused. Today, the Transport Safety Commission has published its aviation accident investigation (progress report). Our company will continue to fully cooperate with the Commission’s investigation toward the final report.”
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This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
