When a Japan Airlines plane and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft collided on Tuesday during takeoff in Tokyo, the passenger jet caught fire and the Coast Guard members on the other plane, which was headed for earthquake relief work, perished.
The airline informed NHK, the official broadcaster, that all 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board had safely disembarked the aircraft at Haneda Airport. Speaking at a press conference, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that five crew members on the Coast Guard aircraft had died.
According to Mr. Kishida, the Coast Guard personnel were traveling to provide supplies to the area impacted by Monday’s strong earthquake that struck western Japan.
The prime minister remarked, “It is deeply sad and upsetting what has happened to them. They were full of a determined sense of mission.” “I offer my sincere condolences to their families who are still alive.”
Government agencies would make measures, Mr. Kishida continued, to make sure the crash “did not affect relief efforts” following the earthquake, which left at least 48 people dead.
NHK broadcast footage of the Japan Airlines aircraft streaking over a runway while engulfed in flames. According to the broadcaster, Flight 516 took off from New Chitose Airport in the Hokkaido region and was expected to land at Haneda at 5:40 p.m.
Following six o’clock in the evening, firefighters could be seen attempting to put out flames that were shooting out of the Airbus A350-900.
A Coast Guard representative named Naoko Kobayashi stated that the aircraft involved in the collision was a fixed-wing MA722.
Director general of the transport ministry’s civil aviation bureau Shigenori Hiraoka stated he was unable to corroborate any information regarding the accident or communications between the two planes and the air traffic control tower during a late-night press briefing on Tuesday.