'It was a miracle': How passengers escaped a JAL fireball in Tokyo

Japan Airlines' A350 airplane is on fire at Haneda international airport in Tokyo, Japan January 2, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato

HANEDA AIRPORT, Tokyo, Japan (Reuters) - The flight between the northern city of Sapporo and Tokyo's Haneda airport is Japan's busiest air route, and one of the most frequent services anywhere in the world. Japan Airlines (JAL) operates 16 round-trip flights a day.

But when JAL516 followed that route to Haneda on Tuesday, what unfolded was a runway collision that is baffling aviation experts and a smooth evacuation and rescue that some described as miraculous.