5-1-2024 (TOKYO) Crews at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport initiated the clearance process for the charred wreckage of a Japan Airlines plane on Friday (Jan 5), while investigators intensify efforts to retrieve the aircraft’s crucial cockpit voice recorder, aiming to unravel the circumstances behind the tragic incident.
The Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet collided with a Coast Guard turboprop on the runway during its landing in Tokyo on Tuesday. Miraculously, all 379 individuals on board the JAL aircraft managed to escape before it succumbed to flames, but unfortunately, five out of the six crew members on the Coast Guard craft lost their lives.
Equipped with cutting tools, two excavators worked to remove the Airbus A350’s damaged wing, while another hoisted debris from the burnt-out cabin into a large lorry. Approximately a dozen personnel in white overalls and hard hats observed the meticulous process.
An official from the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) disclosed that the plane’s flight data recorder had been retrieved earlier in the week, but the cockpit voice recorder was still awaiting recovery.
The authorities aim to complete the wreckage removal, involving the dismantling of the aircraft, by Jan 7. Subsequently, it will be transported to its hangar, where the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department will conduct a thorough inspection, as reported by TBS.
Transport authorities are delving into the circumstances leading to the Coast Guard plane’s entry onto the runway where the JAL passenger jet was landing. Concurrently, police are reportedly investigating potential professional negligence.
The captain of the Coast Guard aircraft, the sole survivor, faces scrutiny after control tower transcripts suggested he was instructed to enter a holding area near the runway before the collision. Although he claimed permission to enter the runway, transcripts contradicted this assertion.
Suffering severe burns from the crash, the captain has not provided further comments as he remains unreachable.
EMERGENCY TRIP The Coast Guard plane was on its third emergency trip to an earthquake zone within 24 hours when the tragic collision transpired. On the day of the accident, Haneda, the world’s third busiest airport, operated at full capacity.
Initial investigations have just commenced, and aviation experts note that multiple safety guardrails usually fail for such an aviation accident to occur.
According to local news reports, the Coast Guard plane spent 40 seconds on the runway before the collision, a detail yet to be officially confirmed by the Civil Aviation Bureau.
In a collaborative effort, US aviation safety officials will assist Japan in deciphering airplane recorders to gain insights into the root cause of the deadly collision, according to the head of the main US transport regulator.
