Airplanes Collide in Haneda Airport

A passenger plane of Japan Air Line and an aircraft of Japan Coast Guard crushed on the runway of Tokyo Haneda International Airport in the evening of January 2nd. While 379 passengers and crews on the JAL plane could evacuate before the plane was burnt down, 5 crews on the JCG plane were dead. JCG plane was heading to Niigata Air Base for the relief of the great earthquake in Noto Peninsula the day before. Japan started 2024 with consecutive disasters.

It was around 5:47 p.m., when JAL 516, the Airbus 350 which had departed New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, collided with a Bombardier maritime patrol plane of JCG on the Runway C of Haneda Airport. The JAL plane was running on the runway just after the landing. The JCG plane was entering the runway to take off, from the left side of the JAL plane.

 

Both planes immediately started fire after the collision. The JAL plane stopped after running about a thousand meters, while the JCG plane, as small as less than a half size of the JAL plane, exploded with fire when it was hit.

 

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport disclosed the record of communication between the ground control and the pilots. MLIT revealed that the ground control allowed the JAL plane landing on Runway C of Haneda Airport and directed JCG plane to proceed before the runway. But JCG announced that the captain of the plane, who survived the accident, had said that he proceeded to the runway with a permission from the ground control. The recognition on the instruction was totally different between the ground control and JCG pilot.

 

It took eighteen minutes for all the passengers could evacuate from the JAL plane. After the crush with JCG plane, the JAL plane was immediately set on fire. Although some passengers were in panic at fire and smoke in the cabin, they could leave the plane through the evacuation slopes before the whole body of the airplane was wrapped by fire and burnt down. The survival of all the passengers and crews of JAL plane was nothing but a miracle.

 

JCG expressed condolences on the deaths of its personnel. Six crews were on their way to sending water, food or other emergency supplies to the devastated area of the earthquake. While the cause of the accident has not been determined, it can be said as a secondary disaster of Noto Earthquake. Japan Transport Safety Board is going to investigate how the accident has occurred and show the way to prevent the same kind of disaster.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amendment of Local Autonomy Law

The House of Representatives started discussion on revision of the Local Autonomy Law, which would vest the national government a power to instruct local government in an emergency. It may change the relationship between the national and local government, which has been recognized as equal. The opposition parties oppose the amendment, arguing that it would give the national government an excessive power.   With the Meiji Restoration, the national government abolished the feudal system, introducing modern governance. However, its autonomy was not sufficient. The governor of each prefecture was appointed by the national government. The local governments subordinated to the national government. It was as late as 2000 when  the Comprehensive Decentralization Law  was enacted and the relationship between the national and local government was defined as equal.   The national government found inconvenience in the relationship between the national and local government, when ...
Read more

Request for Final Nuclear Disposal Site

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry requested Genkai Town, Saga, to accept “literature survey” for building a final disposal site for high-level radioactive waste. Genkai is going to answer within this month. If it accepts, it will be the third place to accept that survey, following two places in Hokkaido. Main reason to accept the survey is supposed to be subsidy from the national government.   Japan has no final disposal site. Among all 54 reactors in 17 nuclear power generation plant, 12 reactors of 6 plants are operating. The rest of them are not in operation, some of which are determined to be decommissioned. Used nuclear fuels are stocked in each plant, 　 or have sent to a reprocessing plant in Rokkasho, Aomori. There are two plans to stock nuclear wastes in the intermediate facility for disposal, one is already built and another is still in negotiation.   Nuclear Fuel Final Disposal Act in 2000 determines to bury nuclear waste in the underground. Literature survey, ...
Read more

Not A Royal Wedding

The bride called her husband an indispensable existence and their marriage was necessary choice to protect their mind. The groom insisted on his life as only once and his right to be with his loved one. Her father wanted his daughter’s marriage to be celebrated by the people. The people were not sure whether the family was happy as a whole. Is this the traditional Japanese social system that makes no one happy? Mako Komuro, as known as Princess Mako during her life in one of the royal family Akishino, held on Tuesday a press conference with her husband Kei Komuro, right after submitting marriage report to local government. It was something different from ordinary Q&A session, because Mako was afraid of her mental uneasiness brought by some questions not based on truth. So, the event was actually one-sided speech to the reporters. Mako emphasized that the Kei’s decision of studying abroad five years ago had not been his original idea, but a result of her request to establish an over...
Read more