The pilot of the Coast Guard Bombardier aircraft was seriously injured, according to the media. Both machines caught fire. However, the 379 people on board the Japan Airlines jet were able to leave the cabin via emergency slides before the Airbus A350 burned out completely.
Immediately following landing, the passenger plane collided with the Coast Guard aircraft for reasons that are still unclear. The Japan Airlines plane was on a domestic flight. She had come from New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido Prefecture. TV images showed passengers leaving the cabin via an emergency slide while the fire was being extinguished. There were 367 passengers and twelve crew members on board.
Huge fireball, flames and clouds of smoke
There was initially no information regarding possible injuries on the passenger plane. A huge fireball might be seen as the plane with flight number 516 touched down on the runway. There was an explosion, they said. The aircraft was badly damaged and flames and clouds of smoke were emitted for a long time. Haneda Airport closed all runways for the time being, an airport spokesman said.
According to the Coast Guard, six people were on board their plane. Only the captain was able to save himself following the accident. The Coast Guard plane was en route to Niigata Airport to deliver relief supplies to the region of Japan’s Noto Peninsula hit by powerful earthquakes. At least 48 people have died in a series of tremors there since New Year’s Day.
