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Five of the six crew members on board the aircraft that collided with a Japanese passenger plane died in the fiery explosion, according to reports.
Shocking footage released by the country’s public broadcaster NHK shows flames erupting out of the windows of a Japan Airlines A350 passenger plane, while a runway at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport was also set alight.
The aircraft, which took off from the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, collided with a Coast Guard plane, according to authorities.
Five of the six crew members on the Coast Guard plane were killed in the collision, according to Japan’s transport minister.
It’s understood the remaining crew member, the pilot, escaped the inferno but was injured in the blaze. The nature of their injuries is unclear.
All 379 passengers and 12 crew on board the Japan Airlines flight escaped without life-threatening injuries, the airline confirmed — a feat described as a “miracle” by a former commercial pilot.
The passengers included eight children, Japan Airlines said.
It’s understood the Coast Guard plane — a Bombardier Dash-8 — was preparing to fly to areas impacted by the recent Japanese earthquake, which caused tsunami warnings and widespread destruction to residential areas.
Japan’s western coastline was struck by a powerful magnitude 7.6 earthquake on Monday, leaving at least 48 people dead.
“It’s not clear if there was a collision. But it is certain that our plane is involved,” a Coast Guard spokesman earlier told AFP.
Dramatic footage from inside the plane has been shared on social media, showing passengers covering their mouths to protect themselves from the billowing smoke.
The distress and panic is evident as people are heard screaming from inside the aircraft.
Another video filmed from a window seat shows fire and smoke erupting on the side of the plane as it lands on the runway.
Swede Anton Deibe, 17, who was on board the Japan Airlines flight with his parents and sister when it crashed, said the experience was “hell”.
“The entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes,” he told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
“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 ran out into the field. It was chaos.”
But former commercial pilot Roger Whitefield described the passengers’ escape as a “miracle”.
“We have just witnessed a miracle,” Mr Whitefield told Sky News.
“The way they got all those passengers off that aeroplane is almost beyond belief.”
Images show smoke pouring out of one of the rear doors, meaning the visibility on the plane “must have been nil”.
“For the crew to get all the passengers out, it’s a miracle. There’s no two ways about it,” he added.
A Haneda Airport spokesperson stated that all runways at the airport are currently closed.
“We are currently assessing the extent of the damage,” the airline said, according to NHK.
The plane, Japan Airlines Flight 516, departed from New Chitose airport at 16:00 local time and was scheduled to land at Haneda at 17:40.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has said it is investigating.
According to Flight Radar 24, which tracks flights across the world, the Coast Guard plane was not equipped with a key safety feature.
The flight tracker said the incident occurred at 5.47pm local time as the Japan Airlines flight was landing.
The Coast Guard aircraft was a De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315Q MPA, also known as a Bombardier Dash-8, with registration JA772A.
It was not equipped with a modern ADS-B transponder, Flight Radar said.
ADS-B transponders are used to transmit highly accurate information about an aircraft’s position to ground controllers and directly to other aircraft.
The system is more accurate than using conventional radar surveillance.
Haneda Airport is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays.
In 2020, it was named the second-best airport after Singapore’s Changi Airport, while Skytrax named it as the as the second best airport in the world in 2021, in-between Qatar’s Hamad International Airport and Changi.
Japan has not suffered a serious commercial aviation accident in decades.
The event comes just one day after the country was devastated by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that left at least 48 dead on New Year’s Day.
More to come.
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