Tokyo: A Japan Airlines plane carrying 379 passengers and crew burst into flames after an apparent collision with a smaller coastguard aircraft on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday. The incident occurred just after the Japan Airlines flight 516, en route from New Chitose Airport, landed on Runway C at approximately 5.47 pm (local time). The coastguard plane, which had six or seven crew members on board, was reportedly dragged by the larger plane and caught fire. The captain of the coastguard plane managed to escape, but the others remained unaccounted for.
Some passengers on board the Japan Airlines plane recorded videos of the terrifying ordeal and shared them on the social media site X. One video, posted by an X handle named MR News, showed smoke filling the cabin and a woman screaming in panic. Another video captured the moment of landing when plumes of fire erupted from the lower part of the plane. Oxygen masks were deployed and passengers were seen wearing them in the videos. All the passengers and crew on the Japan Airlines plane were evacuated safely, but some suffered minor injuries.
The runway near the site of the accident has been closed, causing delays and inconveniences for several flights. About 70 vehicles of the fire department are engaged in extinguishing the fire. Japan’s transport ministry has sent officials to the site to investigate the cause and circumstances of the collision. The coastguard has issued a statement confirming that one of their aircraft was involved in the accident, but said they do not have much information available about why and how the accident happened. The search for the missing crew members is still ongoing.
