TOKYO (AP) — A passenger jet and a Japanese Coast Guard plane collided on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday and burst into flames.
Transport Minister Tetsu Saito confirmed that all 379 passengers on Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 exited safely before the plane fully caught fire. The pilot of the Coast Guard plane also survived, but five crew members died, Saito said.
A video clip broadcast on local television showed a large explosion of fire and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it was moving after landing. The area surrounding the pavilion then caught fire. An hour later, footage showed the plane fully engulfed in flames.
The transport minister said the JAL plane was an Airbus A-350 and had taken off from Shin Chitose Airport, near Sapporo, to Haneda.
Coast Guard spokesman Yoshinori Yanagishima said the plane was an MA-722, a Bombardier Dash-8. The plane, based in Haneda, was scheduled to head to Niigata to deliver relief materials to residents affected by the typhoon. Deadly earthquake In the region on Monday, at least 48 people were killed.
“The entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes,” Swede Anton Deby, 17, who was a passenger on the Japan Airlines plane, told the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet. We threw ourselves on the ground. Then the emergency doors opened and we threw ourselves at them.
“The smoke in the cabin stung as hell. It was hell. We had no idea where we were going so we ran into the field. It was chaos,” added Debbie, who was traveling with his parents and sister.
Saito said Haneda Airport is currently closed while the incident is under investigation by aviation safety investigators and police, but they are doing their best to reopen the airport on Wednesday or even earlier.
He added that officials are doing their best to prevent any delay in the delivery of relief materials and other operations to the affected area.
Haneda Airport is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel during the New Year holiday.
___
Yamaguchi reported from Kyoto, Japan. Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Denmark, contributed to this report.
“Internet practitioner. Social media maven. Certified zombieaholic. Lifelong communicator.”