Japanese investigators on Wednesday examined the charred remains of a passenger plane that caught fire on the runway a day earlier, as air traffic control footage showed fault with the earthquake relief plane it crashed into.
Pictures from Haneda International Airport show that only the charred wings and tail of the Japan Airlines plane remain on the runway.
The charred cockpit was completely separated from the burning Airbus A350 — from which 379 passengers and 12 crew members miraculously escaped.
The plane was landing at a Tokyo airport Tuesday when it collided with a coast guard jet, killing five service members who were helping victims of the deadly earthquake.
Authorities said the passenger plane had received permission to land, while air traffic controllers told the coast guard pilot to “hold on.”
According to a transcript of air traffic control communications from about five minutes before the crash, a controller told the Japan Airlines flight to “continue approach” to Runway C when it arrived around 5:47 p.m.
Pictures emerged early Wednesday of the scene at Haneda International Airport, where only the wings and tail of the Japan Airlines plane remained on the runway. ZUMAPRESS.com authorities said the passenger plane had received permission to land, while air traffic controllers told coast guard crews to “hold on.” AFP via Getty Images
The Japan Airlines flight crew then “acknowledged and repeated” the order before they headed for the runway, airline officials said in a news release.
Coast guard crew members later said they taxied to the same runway, and air traffic controllers directed them to proceed to the hold line before the plane arrived on the runway.
The controller stated that the coast guard flight got takeoff priority and the pilot moved to the stop line.
However, it was never cleared for takeoff.
An official with the coast guard claimed the flight was cleared to enter the runway and was ready for takeoff, while admitting the transcript did not show that, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported.
The charred cockpit was completely separated from the rest of the Airbus A350 — from which more than 300 passengers miraculously escaped before it burst into a ball of fire. AP
Transport officials are focusing on communications between air traffic control officers and two plane crews as they continue their investigation.
Japan’s Transportation Safety Board said investigators plan to interview pilots and officials from both sides, as well as air traffic control officers to find out how the two planes ended up on the runway.
They will be assisted by British and French aircraft experts.
Meanwhile, local police are investigating whether there was any professional negligence.
“There is a high possibility that this involved human error,” Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a former Japan Airlines pilot and flight analyst, told the Guardian.
“Only one plane is generally allowed to enter the runway, but even when landing clearance has been given, Japanese coast guard planes are on the runway.”
The plane collided with a Japanese coast guard jet as it landed at Tokyo airport Tuesday, killing five service members who were on hand to provide aid to victims of the deadly earthquake. AP passengers said flight crews used megaphones and their voices to convey evacuation orders. AP Miraculously, only 14 people on the passenger plane were treated at a local hospital for injuries. JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images
Only one member of the coast guard crew aboard the Bombardier Dash-8 maritime patrol plane survived the collision: Captain Genki Miyomoto, 39, who reportedly pulled himself from the wreckage before radioing for help.
Fourteen people on the passenger plane were also treated at a local hospital.
One suffered bruising and 13 others sought medical consultation “due to physical discomfort,” Japan Airlines officials said in a news release.
They told how the flight crew had to direct the 379 passengers off the plane and onto the emergency slides using megaphones and “their own voices” after the plane’s announcement system malfunctioned.
“The whole cabin was filled with smoke within minutes,” Swedish passenger Anton Deibe, 17, told Aftonbladet.
“We fell to the floor. Then the emergency door opened and we threw ourselves at them.”
More than 300 passengers on the plane were able to escape before it erupted into a ball of fire. via REUTERS
Footage and images shared on social media showed passengers screaming inside the smoke-filled cabin and running across the runway away from the evacuation slide.
“I felt a boom like we hit something and jerked upwards as soon as we landed,” a passenger on the JAL flight told Kyodo news agency. “I saw sparks outside the window and the cabin was filled with gas and smoke.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered relevant agencies to coordinate to assess the damage, according to his office.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
