[anjan_c2007]

A Japan Airlines (JAL) A350 plane caught fire while landing on the runway at Haneda airport in Japan. The airline said all 367 passengers and 12 crew members had been evacuated from the jet. Five crew members on a Coast Guard plane that was involved in the collision with it, were killed.

The Coast Guard members had been en route to deliver supplies to the region affected by the powerful earthquake that struck Western Japan on Monday, Mr Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Prime Minister said. Mr. Kishida added that government ministries would work to ensure that the crash did “not affect relief efforts” after the earthquake, which killed at least 48 people (now 60 plus).

The broadcaster NHK reported that the plane, Flight 516, had departed New Chitose Airport in the Northern Prefecture of Hokkaido and was scheduled to land at Haneda at 5.40 p.m. Live footage after 6 p.m.(local time) showed firefighters trying to douse flames pouring out of the plane, an Airbus A350-900.The Coast Guard plane involved in the collision was a fixed-wing MA-722, Bombardier Dash-8, according to Naoko Kobayashi, a Coast Guard representative.

The NYT link:-
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/02/w...lane-fire.html

The BBC link with video:-

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-67862011

The tragedy coming some hours, post the 01.01.2024, 7.6 magnitude earthquake, was traumatic for Japan. But the fact that all the 367 passengers and 12 crew members of the JAL plane were duly evacuated from the speeding inferno on wheels is really appreciable. Sadly, the crew members of the Coast Guard plane who were on a noble mission were killed.

Also in the news is the fact that the flights with earthquake relief material were slotted between commercial flights in the very busy airport, where some miscalculations could have triggered the tragedy.

[fhdowntheline]

1) The obvious question- how did the A350 and the Coast guard Bombardier end up on the same runway. That has to be a major communication/ ground ops error.
2) what damage was caused the plane to the extent that even the engine no 2 seemed to be running even during the evac as evidenced from the sparks coming from the back. Did the engine shutdown mechanics/ circuitry get damaged?
3) Normally you would expect the fire trucks to ensure that the fire is doused to the max. Here it seems that the plane further continued to burn after most of the evacuations were done. Why would that be the case? This was most likely a domestic flight, coming from Chitose airport. Unlikely that the A350 was carrying enormous amount of fuel.

[skanchan95]

TOKYO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Five of the six crew members aboard a Japan Coast Guard aircraft that collided with a passenger plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday were confirmed dead, while the captain who managed to escape earlier was severely injured, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Coast Guard spokesperson Yoshinori Yanagishima earlier confirmed the collision between the Japan Airlines aircraft and its flight MA-722, a Bombardier Dash-8, with both aircraft catching fire.

The Coast Guard plane was taxiing on the runway to transport relief goods for quake-hit areas in Niigata Prefecture after a series of temblors of up to 7.6 magnitude struck central Japan on Monday afternoon, according to the spokesperson.

Meanwhile, all 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board the Japan Airlines flight escaped from the airplane while it was on fire without life-threatening injuries after it collided with the smaller Coast Guard aircraft at around 5:50 p.m. local time, the NHK reported.

The NHK said the passenger plane was Japan Airlines Flight 516, an Airbus A-350 that had flown from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido Prefecture to Tokyo's Haneda Airport
NHK footage showed a large burst of fire erupting from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway. The area around the wing then caught fire. Footage an hour later showed the blaze engulfed the aircraft.

According to the transport ministry, Haneda Airport has shut down all runways due to the aircraft collision.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday instructed relevant ministers to investigate the incident.

The ill-fated Japanese Coast Guard Aircraft was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q300 S/N JA722A/MA722.

[airbus]

This is the first hull loss of an Airbus A350 aircraft. The Airbus A350 was just two years old, delivered to Japan Airlines in November 2021.



Flightradar24 blog post: Japan Airlines Airbus A350 collides with aircraft on landing in Tokyo

[skanchan95]

Wreckage of the Japanese Coast Guard Dash 8 Q300. Hard to believe that there was a survivor from that aircraft.

[itwasntme]

Only the Japanese would so willingly evacuate a burning aircraft and save 379 souls! Most nationalities would be trying to get their cabin baggage out like in the EK521 case at DXB.

[anjan_c2007]

The BBC says that the Airbus A350 is equipped with "state of the art", flawless evacuation technology which played a part in their survival. It also states that the passengers scrambled to duck the flames and very well knew that the next few seconds were crucial for their survival. Survival instinct kicked in to flee the smoke filled cabin.

BBC News - Japan jet crash: Passengers describe chaos inside flight 516
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-67865132

The CNN has better narrated how the 367 passengers and 12 crew members escaped from the burning plane as quoted below. It says rationality took precedence over the animal instinct for the crew members.

We only wish other national and world carriers around the world including those in India take cue from JAL's exemplary example as a role model for safety and evacuation SOP'S to be followed during such disasters. :-

While investigations into what happened in the incident, which saw the JAL plane erupt in a fireball, are ongoing, experts say the successful evacuation is down to a combination of modern safety standards and Japan Airlines’ own rigorous safety culture.

“From what I saw on the footage, I was surprised and relieved that everyone got out,” says Graham Braithwaite, professor of safety and accident investigation at the UK’s Cranfield University.

“It’s such a severe impact for any aircraft to have to withstand. But knowing what I know about that airline, and how much effort they put into safety and into crew training, the fact that they did do such a good job shouldn’t be such a surprise.”

In fact, it was a catastrophic accident nearly 40 years ago that helped turned Japan AIrlines into such a safe airline, he says.

On August 12, 1985, JAL flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka crashed, killing 520 out of the 524 onboard, after a faulty repair of the tail by Boeing technicians – not the airline’s – following an earlier incident.

To this day, it is the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.

“Clearly the effect was profound on the airline,” says Braithwaite. “In a culture like Japan’s, they took that responsibility as a group and wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.

“So when things go wrong, they see it in terms of how they can learn. Everything is an opportunity to improve.”

In 2005, realizing that many employees were joining the company without a memory of that accident 20 years earlier, JAL opened a space in their corporate HQ displaying parts of the wreckage, as well as stories of the crew and passengers.

“The feeling was, there are people who’ve joined our business who don’t know what it’s like to go wrong. Everyone has to understand how much effort goes into safety,” says Braithwaite.

Nearly four decades on, the crash still has a profound effect on the company mentality, he says.

“They have a very strict culture around standard operating procedures and doing everything properly. That’s one of the reasons in this case I think the crew seems to have performed so well,” he says.

While it’s not clear who was to blame for Tuesday’s crash, Braithwaite says the successful evacuation is “absolutely” a positive for Japan Airlines. Braithwaite says that the routine aspect of training ingrains the procedures in crew’s minds.

“That’s the unseen bit for us as passengers, but it’s absolutely rigorous,” he says.

“As we’re coming into land, they’re generally sitting there, thinking through, ‘This is what I’ll do.’ They’re looking outside the aircraft. They know exactly where the handle is. It’s that ‘routinization’ of behavior that just happened here [in Tokyo].

‘It’s a shocking surprise for the rest of us, but it’s the training that carries through. And taking that so seriously is an important part.”

Steven Erhlich, chair of PilotsTogether – a charity set up in the pandemic to support crew – agrees. “It’s too soon to comment on the specifics of the incident, but what’s clear is that the crew performed in an exemplary fashion,” he says.

“The safety training that airlines - in this case JAL - put the crews through on a continuous basis paid off allowing for evacuation within 90 seconds. The takeaway from my point of view is that passengers need to pay attention to the safety briefings and remember that the crews are not glorified food service staff but are well-trained safety professionals.”

International minimum safety standards laid out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, part of the UN) mandate cabin crew practice emergency evacuations annually. Aircraft manufacturers must also prove that any new airplane can be fully evacuated in 90 seconds.

More CNN news details here on this very lengthy and well researched and written report:-

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/02/trave...ntl/index.html

[RM Motorsports]

This is what is left of the Japan Airlines flight JAL516.

[skanchan95]

Looks like the Japanese Coast Guard Q300 entered the runway without authorization.Source

Coastguard plane was 'told to hold short of the runway' moments before Japan Airlines jet collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport

Japan Airlines passenger jet had been given permission to land, a source claims

By ELENA SALVONI

PUBLISHED: 00:26 GMT, 3 January 2024 | UPDATED: 02:15 GMT, 3 January 2024


Air traffic control had ordered a Japanese coastguard plane to hold short of the runway moments before its catastrophic collision with a Japan Airlines passenger jet, it has been claimed.

JAL flight 516 had been given permission by an air traffic controller to enter the runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport before it collided with the coastguard aircraft and burst into flames, Japanese broadcaster NHK reports, citing a source.

Five crewmembers died on board the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) plane, which had been set to take off to deliver aid to the city of Niigata following the deadly New Year's Day earthquake.

The only survivor on the Bombardier Dash-8 maritime patrol plane was named as Captain Genki Miyamoto, 39. He reportedly pulled himself from the wreckage before he radioed for help, telling his base: 'The aircraft exploded on the runway. I escaped. The [condition of the] other crew members is unknown.'

Fortunately, all 379 passengers and crew aboard the commercial JAL flight were successfully evacuated moments before the jet was ravaged by flames - in what has been hailed by many as a 'miracle'.

As the sun rose in Japan on Wednesday, shocking pictures from the scene show the charred remains of the Airbus A350 jet, laying bare just how devastating the disaster could have been.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Only the Japanese would so willingly evacuate a burning aircraft and save 379 souls! Most nationalities would be trying to get their cabin baggage out like in the EK521 case at DXB.

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The BBC says that the Airbus A350 is equipped with "state of the art", flawless evacuation technology which played a part in their survival. It also states that the passengers scrambled to duck the flames and very well knew that the next few seconds were crucial for their survival. Survival instinct kicked in to flee the smoke filled cabin... It says rationality took precedence over the animal instinct for the crew members...

The inherent disciplined culture of Japanese, to follow the instructions and adhering to procedures in every walk of life, can also be attributed to the safe evacuation of close to 400 persons.

In any other country, this might have ended much worse.

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

1)
2) what damage was caused the plane to the extent that even the engine no 2 seemed to be running ...Did the engine shutdown mechanics/ circuitry get damaged?
3) ...This was most likely a domestic flight, coming from Chitose airport. Unlikely that the A350 was carrying enormous amount of fuel.

I am just an average Microsoft Flight Simulator pilot , and I know there are several professional pilots in TBHP. Nevertheless, let me address two of your questions.

2. There have been instances where damaged engines continued to run despite the best efforts of the flight crew to shut them down. The most recent one I can recall was a failed RR Trent 900 on Qantas' Singapore-Sydney A380 Flight 32. It experienced an uncontained failure, with many engine parts falling on a densely populated Indonesian island. The A380 returned to Singapore and landed safely, but the pilots were unable to shut down the engine despite multiple attempts. Ultimately, the fire crew "smothered" the engine with foam.
I'm not insinuating any conspiracy, but the A350 is also powered by the RR XWB, which is essentially a variant of the Trent.

3. Speculation I've seen on Reddit and other platforms suggests that the A350 might have been doused by fuel from the Dash-8, sparking an exterior fire that rapidly spread to the cabin.

[govindremesh]

Thinking out loud and looking for opinions on this from the pilots on the forum: Even though the A350 was cleared to land and let's assume the Dash 8 crew made a mistake of runway incursion, wouldn't the pilots on the A350 spot it and initiate a go-around?
Also, what's the procedure once you're on the runway, spoilers and thrust reversers deployed , and then you spot a runway incursion? (My understanding is that one should not perform a go around once the thrust reversers are deployed - apparently doing that is one of the things that resulted in the IX812 crash).

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by govindremesh

Also, what's the procedure once you're on the runway, spoilers and thrust reversers deployed , and then you spot a runway incursion? (My understanding is that one should not perform a go around once the thrust reversers are deployed - apparently doing that is one of the things that resulted in the IX812 crash).

I think the pilots may have realised they struck the Dash8 right near the touch down zone and the plane already caught fire as a result. There was no way they were going around after that. That would have been a massive disaster otherwise.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Only the Japanese would so willingly evacuate a burning aircraft and save 379 souls! Most nationalities would be trying to get their cabin baggage out like in the EK521 case at DXB.

Aircraft fires are dangerous as the Air Canada fire in 1985 underlined. The crew are the first responders, then the passengers. Firefighters and all other ground staff can't do much. It all gets over in a matter of minutes.

Aviation industry has gone international for a while, your crew and/or pilots doesn't necessary have to be from the same nationality as the carrier or passengers. As an example, the Lion Air pilot in the fatal 737 crash a few years back was Indian.

Survival instinct is human nature, I bet the Japanese are no different there. The survival rate in such an accident boils down to how much the crew put their foot down to get the passengers to evacuate properly.

All said and done, it is incredibly high survival rate for a runway incursion with a not-so small plane. Am glad the nature of the impact (which the landing pilots had no control on) worked in favour of the JAL 516 to achieve 100% survival rate

[NomadSK]

I guess it all boils down to the order in the chaos. Humans can behave in an appropriate or inappropriate manner during an emergency, irrespective of the nationalities. In good conditions, with no pressures on resources or time, calm and orderly responses are likely expected. Even in more chaotic situations, quick thinking and effective actions can lead to positive actions. However, During disasters, freezing (cognitive paralysis) is commonly seen as people struggle to generate appropriate behaviours/responses. People are more likely to make errors in judgement during extreme emergencies, because brain is not wired to comprehend them in the first place and its too much of the information for the brain to process.

Passengers of the A359 reported the landing appeared normal at first, after touchdown there was a thud and the outside lit up in orange. A first announcement was made "please calm down" followed by "do not take your luggage and do not stand up". There was no clear announcement to evacuate, however, when other passengers stood up they also stood up and thus escaped.

On Jan 3rd 2024 Japan's Ministry of Transport said, that the DH8C had received instructions to proceed as far as he could (editorial note: presumably to taxi to runway 05 for takeoff from that runway), the coast guard captain by his own testimony however understood this instruction as takeoff clearance, lined up runway 34R instead leading to the collision. The JTSB is investigating the occurrence.

In the evening of Jan 3rd 2024 Japan's Ministry of Transport released a transcript of the ATC communication (see below, the Ministry also released a version that translates the communication to Japanese) that states, that JL516 was cleared to land on runway 34R, winds 310 at 8. About 10 seconds later and about 2:16 minutes prior to collision the DH8C reported on tower and was cleared to taxi to holding point C5 (Runway 34R), which was correctly read back by the crew. There is no record of any further clearance to the DH8C (other than the captain of the DH8C stated that he had takeoff clearance).