Pilot spotted 'object' before collision

A JAL spokesman said that although one of the pilots spotted “an object” just before the collision, he did not directly communicate with the captain of the Coast Guard plane.

The pilots said they felt an impact within seconds of the plane hitting the ground. Initially, the pilots in the cockpit were unaware of the fire until the chief flight attendant informed them and told them to open the emergency exit.

Japanese officials inspect the burned-out Airbus A350 after the collision, January 4, 2024. (Photo: VNA)

Two days after the collision, several domestic flights scheduled to arrive at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on January 4 were canceled or delayed.

According to Hokkaido Airports, about 200 passengers were stranded overnight at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido Prefecture, after another group of 256 passengers were stranded from the evening of January 2 to the morning of January 3 due to flight cancellations following the rare collision. Since the evening of January 2, Hokkaido Airports has been providing assistance to passengers by distributing sleeping bags, blankets, and mattresses.

New Chitose Airport has seen many flight cancellations, especially flights to Haneda Airport, with 45 on January 2 and 28 on January 3. On January 4, 18 flights from New Chitose Airport to Haneda and several other airports are scheduled to be canceled. The collision also caused many flights from Haneda to New Chitose to be delayed. Some flights were even delayed until 3 a.m. on January 4.

New Chitose Airport, which serves about 400 flights, about 100 of them are to Haneda Airport. The runway where the collision occurred remains closed at Haneda Airport on New Year's Day. JAL and All Nippon Airways also canceled some domestic flights shortly after the collision.

Japanese police said all 379 passengers and crew on board JAL's Airbus A350 flight JL516 were safely evacuated, with no life-threatening injuries after the plane caught fire.

In a statement on the afternoon of January 3, officials of Japan's second-largest airline said that strict adherence to emergency procedures helped save all passengers. However, five of the six crew members on the Japan Coast Guard plane died. The captain escaped the plane and was seriously injured.

(Source: Tin Tuc Newspaper)

Source