How Japan Airlines crew led 367 passengers to safety from a burning plane

An aerial view shows burnt Japan Airlines' (JAL) Airbus A350 plane after a collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Japan January 3, 2024, in this photo taken by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - From the moment a Japan Airlines passenger jet collided with a smaller plane on a runway in Tokyo on Tuesday, it took crew 18 minutes to get all 367 travellers off the plane and safely accounted for.

Reconstructing the scene based on crew accounts, officials at Japan's second-biggest airline on Wednesday said crew followed emergency procedures in textbook fashion, starting with the first rule: panic control.