Devastating aftermath: Officials looking at the burnt wreckage of the JAL passenger plane on the tarmac at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda in Tokyo after it hit the smaller Coast Guard plane on the ground. — AFP
TOKYO: Police are investigating whether a crash between an airliner and a smaller plane at a Tokyo airport may involve professional negligence, media reported yesterday, as transport authorities began inspecting the charred wreckage for clues.
All 379 people miraculously escaped the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 which erupted into flames after colliding with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop shortly after landing at Haneda on Tuesday evening.
Five of the six Coast Guard crew, responding to a major earthquake that struck the country’s west coast, died.
Once a recurring safety problem, aviation experts say the number of such runway collisions or incursions have become far less frequent with modern ground tracking technology and procedures.
Japanese authorities say the cause of the crash remains unclear.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department are investigating whether possible professional negligence led to deaths and injuries, several news outlets including Kyodo news agency and Nikkei Asia reported.
A police spokesperson said a special unit had set up at the airport and was investigating the runway and planning to interview people involved, but declined to comment on whether they were looking into possible professional negligence.
“There’s a strong possibility there was a human error,” said Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a former JAL pilot and aviation analyst.
“Only one plane is generally allowed to enter the runway but even though landing clearance had been given, the Japan Coast Guard aircraft was on the runway.”
The JAL plane was told to continue its approach to runway 34R at 1743 local time, and was given clearance to land at 1745, two minutes before authorities say the collision occurred on the same runway at 1747, according to air traffic control recordings available at liveATC.net.
“Clear to land 34R Japan Airlines 516,” a controller can be heard saying in a recording.
JAL said in a statement the aircraft recognised and repeated the landing permission from air traffic control before approaching and touching down.
The Coast Guard has declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the crash, including why the plane was on the runway and whether it was stationary or moving when disaster struck. — Reuters
