Japan Airlines Airbus A350 Lands Engulfed In Flames In Tokyo
- Japan Airlines Airbus A350 collides with another aircraft at Tokyo Haneda Airport, with flames engulfing fuselage.
- Video shows aircraft rolling down runway with fire coming from windows and engine area.
- Local media says all crew and passengers evacuated safely, but most of the Coast Guard crew are confirmed dead.
A Japan Airlines Airbus A350 burst into flames at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) after colliding with a Coast Guard aircraft upon landing. Video of the landing aircraft, taken as night fell on Tuesday evening local time, shows the aircraft rolling down the runway with fire coming from the windows and engine area.
All passengers and crew onboard the A350 were reported to have evacuated safely. However, five of the six individuals onboard the smaller Coast Guard plane are now confirmed to have died in the crash.
The flight had arrived in Tokyo from Sapporo, having taken off at just before 14:00 local time and operating as flight JL516. The aircraft landed at 17:47. Operating the flight was a 2-year-old Airbus A350-900, registered JA13XJ.
Footage from the scene shows fire trucks in attendance, but the aircraft is completely alight. Aircraft database Planespotters.net already lists the Airbus as a complete write-off. This represents the first-ever Airbus A350 hull loss, coming almost nine years after the type first entered service with Qatar Airways in January 2015.
All JAL passengers and crew evacuated
Miraculously, media are reporting that all 367 passengers and 12 crew on the A350 survived the accident. As per the latest updates from the Tokyo Fire Department, at least 17 passengers and crew sustained injuries, with no further details provided.
Footage shown on local television captures the moment passengers fled across the runway as the plane burned behind them. Videos have since emerged from inside the plane as it landed, and in the immediate aftermath after the plane came to a stop. Passengers appear to have remained surprisingly composed, even as smoke filled up the cabin.
Coast Guard update
Reports have identified the Coast Guard aircraft as a Dash 8. Local media has noted that the Coast Guard aircraft was on its way to deliver vital supplies to Niigata Airport (KIJ)) in Ishikawa Prefecture, which was hit by a major earthquake yesterday.
Footage posted by BNO News shows the moment the A350 burst into flames, apparently after colliding with something. Local police have confirmed that five out of the six individuals onboard the Coast Guard aircraft perished in the crash. Only the captain of the plane is said to have survived, and their condition is believed to be critical.
