How a pilot’s avoidable error led to a lethal crash that noticed a passenger aircraft engulfed in flames
A plane crash which saw two aircrafts burst into flames in Tokyo happened because a pilot mistakenly believed he had been given permission to enter the runway for take-off, an investigation has found.
A Japan Airlines 9201 passenger jet landing at Haneda Airport ploughed into a Japan Coast Guard plane waiting on the runway on January 2, killing five of the six crew members on the later aircraft.
All 379 passengers and crew aboard the Japan Airlines Airbus A350 escaped safely down evacuation chutes minutes before the jet was engulfed in the blaze.
A 166-page report by the Japan Transport Safety Board confirmed that two minutes before the collision took place, the control tower told the Coast Guard plane, ‘No. 1, taxi to holding point C5’.
This meant it was first in line to take off and was supposed to wait at the holding point for further instructions.
But the Coast Guard pilot, who survived the accident, said he believed the message signified permission to enter the runway, the report said.
In those final two minutes, the pilot told investigators that he ordered his co-pilot to go through a checklist that normally begins when a plane has received final take-off permission.
He also believed he heard the control tower say ‘cleared for take-off’ about a minute before the collision.
A Japan Airlines 9201 passenger jet landing at Haneda Airport ploughed into a Japan Coast Guard plane waiting on the runway on January 2
All 379 passengers and crew aboard the Japan Airlines Airbus A350 escaped safely down evacuation chutes minutes before the jet was engulfed in the blaze
The Coast Guard plane was delivering rescue supplies to a region of Japan hit by an earthquake the day before.
The ‘No. 1’ meant that the plane had been given priority ahead of another plane that normally would have gone ahead.
This suggested to the pilot that controllers shared his desire to move quickly, the report said.
The report also outlined that the pilot was worried that his colleagues would be late getting home after dropping off the supplies and returning to Tokyo.
It was also confirmed that air-traffic controllers didn’t notice a warning light indicating a potential runway collision.
This meant they let the Coast Guard plane sit on the runway for about 40 seconds as the Japan Airlines jet descended.
The Transport Ministry said it has taken steps to improve pilot communications and strengthen warnings about runway incursions.
Footage taken from inside the plane showed passengers panicking as smoke filled the cabin.
Several can be seen with masks and rags over their mouth in an effort to limit the amount of smoke they inhale, while others can be heard crying out in fear.
Shocking footage showed the Japan Airlines jet engulfed in a raging inferno as it sat on the runway at Haneda Airport, in Ota City, Tokyo, with gouts of flame seen pouring out of the passenger windows
Fire crews were deployed to the scene immediately, with footage showing firefighters desperately trying to extinguish the flames with multiple hoses
A tower of smoke billowed out of the burning wreckage of the plane at Haneda Airport
Another clip showed smoke pouring out of the side of the plane as it touched down on the runway of the airport, the busiest in the country, which saw over 26.5 million passengers in 2021.
Swede Anton Deibe, 17, who was a passenger on the Japan Airlines plane, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that ‘the entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes’.
She said: ‘We threw ourselves down on the floor. Then the emergency doors were opened and we threw ourselves at them.
‘The smoke in the cabin stung like hell. It was a hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field. It was chaos,’ added Deibe, who was traveling with his parents and sister.’
Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays.
Japan has not suffered a serious commercial aviation accident in decades.
Its worst ever was in 1985, when a JAL jumbo jet flying from Tokyo to Osaka crashed in central Gunma region, killing 520 passengers and crew.
That disaster was one of the world’s deadliest plane crashes involving a single flight.
