Japan Airlines plane fire – live: Five coast guard crew dead after Tokyo airport crash
Five people were killed and a pilot was seriously injured following a collision between a passenger plane and a coastguard aircraft in Japan.
The Metropolitan Police Department of Tokyo said five crew members of the coastguard aircraft MA722 were killed after a Japan Airlines collided with it when flying into Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
The aircraft was heading to western Japan to deliver aid to those caught up in the New Year’s Day earthquake that has killed at least 48 people.
Live footage on public broadcaster NHK showed the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 aircraft bursting into flames as it skidded down the tarmac at around 6 pm.(0900 GMT).
It was later overwhelmed by the blaze despite feverish efforts by rescue crews to control the fire. All 379 passengers, inlcuding eight children and 12 crew members, escaped unscathed.
Footage and images shared on social media showed passengers shouting inside the smoke-filled cabin and running across the tarmac away from an evacuation slide.
Key points
Five killed in Tokyo plane collision
Plane catches fire on runway at Japan's Haneda airport
Multiple passengers injured in Tokyo plane crash
Hundreds of passengers evacuated
Five killed in Tokyo plane collision
11:32 , Tom Watling
Five people have been confirmed dead following a collision between a passenger plane and a coastguard aircraft, local officials have announced.
Earlier, we reported that the status of five crew members of the coastguard aircraft MA722 was unknown.
The Metropolitan Police Department has since revealed that all five have been killed.
They were heading to western Japan to deliver aid to those caught up in the New Year’s Day earthquake that has already killed at least 48 people.
Watch: Footage from inside burning Japan Airlines plane shows moment aircraft catches fire
20:20 , Alexander Butler
‘I thought I was going to die’, passenger says
19:20 , Alexander Butler
A terrified passenger said he thought he was going to die after his flight collided with a coastguard aircraft in Tokyo earlier today.
“I really thought I was going to die,” said Tokyo resident Tsubasa Sawada, 28, who was returning from a holiday in Sapporo with his girlfriend.
“After the accident happened, I was laughing a bit at first when I could see some sparks coming out (of the engine) but when the fire started, I realised it was more than just something.”
Flight attendants seemed to be urging people to remain calm, saying “please cooperate”, according to the video shared with Reuters.
18:18 , Alexander Butler
Five people were killed and more than a dozen injured when a passenger jet collided with a Japanese coastguard aircraft and burst into flames as it landed at a Tokyo airport.
The coastguard plane was carrying aid for victims of the earthquake that rocked the country on New Year’s Day and has killed at least 48 people.
Footage from within the Japan Airlines Airbus-A350, which was carrying 379 people, including eight children, showed smoke pouring from beneath its wings as it landed at Tokyo’s Haneda airport at around 5.45pm local time (8.45am GMT).
Read the full story here:
Five killed and more than a dozen injured in fiery plane crash in Japanese capital
Japan Airlines apologises for collision
15:58 , Alexander Butler
Japan Airlines has apologised for the collision and vowed to provide full cooperation into investigating what caused the incident.
“We regret to inform you that on the evening of 2 January, JL516 was involved in a collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft during its landing at Haneda Airport, resulting in a fire on the runway.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased members of the Japan Coast Guard. We want to assure you that all passengers and crew on our flight were safely evacuated.
“We would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the distress and inconvenience caused to our passengers, their families, and all those affected by this incident.
“We would like to assure you that we will provide our full cooperation in the investigation of this unfortunate event,” it said in a statement.
Up to 17 passengers and crew left with minor injuries
14:51 , Alexander Butler
Up to 17 of the passengers and crew who were taken off the Japan Airlines flight suffered minor injuries, according fire service officials.
All 379 people on board the craft were evacuated before the plane became engulfed in flames and its fuselage collapsed following a collision with a coastguard aircraft.
Five crew members of the coastguard aircraft MA722 were killed and the pilot was left with serious injuries, the Japanese government confirmed.
Haneda Airport could reopen today, transport minister says
13:47 , Alexander Butler
Japan’s minister for transport has given a news conference confirming details of what has happened at Tokyo Haneda Airport.
“Japan Airlines informed Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau that 379 people, including 367 passengers and 12 crew members, had been safely evacuated,” Tetsuo Saito says.
“Regarding the coastguard plane, one captain was evacuated but five other crew members were confirmed dead.”
The minister said it is hoped Haneda’s runways could open “by tomorrow, or even within today”.
Cause of crash unknown, Japanese government says
13:37 , Alexander Butler
The cause of the collision is unknown and authorities are investigating, Japan’s minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said.
“The root cause of the accident has not been analysed yet,” Tetsuo Saito said. “We will continue looking into the cause and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Aircraft crew had a ‘high sense of duty’ Japanese prime minister says
13:30 , Alexander Butler
The five aircraft crew members killed in a collision with a passenger jet had a “high sense of duty”, Japan’s prime minister said.
Prime minister Fumio Kishida said the disaster, which happened as the aircraft was travelling to western Japan to help those affected by an earthquake, was a “very dissapointing” and saddening situation.
The earthquake which happened on New Year’s Day has killed at least 48 people. Mr Kishida added that authorities were working to ensure the crash wouldn’t obstruct rescue efforts.
Here are some of the latest photos from Tokyo
13:05 , Tom Watling
Below are some of the latest photos coming from Tokyo after the fatal plane collision
Passenger on board exploded plane describes the flaming cabin as ‘hell’
12:40 , Tom Watling
Below are some quotes from a passenger onboard the Japan Airlines flight that exploded into flames after landing in Tokyo.
Swede Anton Deibe, 17, who was travelling with his sister and parents, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that “the entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes”.
He 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 hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field. It was chaos.”
All flights in and out of Tokyo Haneda cancelled for the rest of the day – but overnight flights from the UK are continuing
12:15 , Tom Watling
Following the crash at Tokyo Haneda, all flights in and out of Japan’s biggest airport are cancelled for the rest of the day.
Figures obtained by The Independent show 61,000 arriving and departing passengers were expected at Haneda airport, which is one of the busiest in Asia.
An estimated 15,000-20,000 passengers will have their journeys disrupted by the closure of the airport.
The two morning departures from London Heathrow to the airport are going ahead as normal. The expectation is that operations will recommence by Wednesday morning, local time, when the British Airways and Japan Airlines are due to land.
Multiple passengers injured in Tokyo plane crash
11:51 , Tom Watling
More than a dozen passengers on board a commercial flight that caught fire as it landed in Tokyo airport have been injured, local officials have confirmed.
The Tokyo Fire Department said at least 17 crew members and passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 516 were confirmed to be injured.
They were 379 passengers, including eight children and 12 crew members, on board the one and half hour flight from Shin-Chitose airport on the mountainous northern island of Hokkaido to Tokyo.
Five members of a second plane caught up in the fire have been reported dead.
London Heathrow flights arrive at Tokyo safely before Japan Airlines crash
11:30 , Tom Watling
The two late-afternoon arrivals from London Heathrow touched down as normal at Tokyo Haneda before the crash involving a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 and a coastguard aircraft.
Japan Airlines flight JL44 touched down from London slightly ahead of its scheduled 5.20pm arrival.
All Nippon Airways flight NH212, flying the same route, was scheduled to land 20 minutes after the plane involved in the crash. But it also arrived ahead of time.
Passengers from both flights will have been going through airport formalities when the crash happened. Those with onward flight connections will find themselves temporarily unable to travel.
Flight operations at Tokyo Haneda have ceased while emergency workers deal with the crash.
With firefighters involved in the aftermath, no arrivals or departures can take place.
Dozens of flights have been cancelled, while others that were in the air en route to Tokyo have diverted.
The main diversion airport is Tokyo Narita, a leading international gateway to Japan. But capacity is limited, so a large number of flights have returned to their starting points.
All passengers of Japan Airlines flight escape without life-threatening injuries
11:19 , Tom Watling
All the passengers on board the Japanese Airbus A-350 plane that caught fire after touching down in Tokyo have escaped without life threatening injuries, the flight provider Japan Airlines has confirmed.
There were 379 people on board Flight 516, they said, including 367 passengers. Among them were eight children.
All on board escaped without serious injury.
Six coastguard members were on board a second plane affected by the fire. The status of five of them remains unknown while the pilot is unhurt.
Footage from inside burning Japan Airlines plane shows moment aircraft catches fire
11:12 , Tom Watling
2023 was safest year ever for aviation
11:00 , Tom Watling
The crash at Tokyo Haneda took place two days after the end of what was the safest year on record for commercial aviation, writes The Independent’s Travel correspondent, Simon Calder.
There were fewer aircraft accidents and deaths in 2023 than ever before.
Only two fatal accidents occurred during the 12 months, compared with six in 2022.
In both crashes, propeller aircraft came down on domestic flights, with a total of 86 deaths – fewer than half the 178 fatalities in 2023. For comparison, 148 people die in the average hour on the world’s roads according to the latest UN figures.
No fatal aircraft accidents involved international flights or passenger jets.
In a civil aviation safety review for the Dutch air-safety organisation To70, senior aviation consultant Adrian Young writes: “Both the number of accidents and fatalities are at a record low.”
The fatal accident rate was less than one in 15 million flights – three times better than the 10-year average.
Air safety 2023: How safe were the last 12 months for flying?
Relief plane caught up in collision
10:49 , Tom Watling
The Japanese coastguard has said that one of the planes involved in the collision was headed to Japan’s west coast to deliver vital aid to those caught up in a powerful earthquake.
They told public broadcaster NHK that the smaller coastguard aircraft that hit the Japan Airlines plane was heading to Niigata airport prior to the collision.
It had been planning to deliver aid to those caught up in a powerful New Year’s Day earthquake that has killed at least 48 people in western Japan.
Rescue efforts are ongoing there with fears people remain trapped under collapsed buildings.
Passenger aircraft 'collides' with Japan Coast Guard plane carrying earthquake aid
10:36 , Namita Singh
A Japan Airlines aircraft caught fire after it reportedly collided with a Japan Coast Guard plane carrying aid for earthquake victims in the northern part of the country.
A spokesperson for the airline said flight JAL 516 was carrying 367 passengers from Shin-Chitose airport in Hokkaido to Haneda when the incident occurred on landing. There were 12 crew members on board.
Five out of six Japan Coast Guard crew members on the aircraft that collided with the Japan Airlines aircraft are currently missing, according to TBS Television.
The Coast Guard aircraft was on its way to the Niigata airport base to deliver aid to the quake-hit Noto Peninsula, officials said on Tuesday.
10:35 , Namita Singh
Five missing crew from the Japanese Coast Guard aircraft have been found, reported Kyodo News, citing Tokyo’s fire department. Their condition is not yet known.
In pictures: Japan Airlines jet bursts into flames
10:26 , Namita Singh
Authorities suspect crash involves another plane
10:19 , Namita Singh
Japan Airlines believes JAL flight 516 was hit by another aircraft, possibly a Japan Coast Guard plane, public broadcaster NHK reported JAL as saying.
Japan’s Coast Guard said it is checking reports about a collision between its aircraft and the JAL flight on fire.
Tokyo fire department also said that the fire is believed to have been caused by a collision between the passenger aircraft and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft.
All passengers safely evacuated
10:12 , Namita Singh
All passengers and crew on board are believed to have been safely evacuated, public broadcaster NHK said.
Flight number 516 was carrying around 367 passengers from Shin-Chitose airport in Hokkaido to Haneda when the incident occurred on landing. There were 12 crew members on board.
In video: Japan Airlines jet bursts into flames on Tokyo's Haneda airport runway
10:11 , Namita Singh
Plane catches fire on runway at Japan's Haneda airport
10:11 , Namita Singh
A plane burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, with news reports saying it hit another aircraft after landing.Local TV video showed a large eruption of fire and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway.
The area around the wing then caught fire.
Later video showed fire crews working to put out the fire with streams of water. The flames had spread to much of the plane.
My colleague Shweta Sharma has more:
Japan Airlines jet bursts into flames upon landing at Tokyo airport
09:59 , Namita Singh
Welcome to The Independent’s liveblog for Tuesday, 2 January 2024, where we provide the latest update on a Japan Airlines plane fire.
