- NHK TV says five crewmembers found dead on coast guard plane involved in crash at Japanese airport
A plane burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday, with news reports saying it hit another aircraft after landing. NHK TV reported that all occupants, believed to total 379 people, got out safely.
Local TV video showed a large eruption of fire and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway. The area around the wing then caught fire. Footage an hour later showed the plane entirely engulfed in fire.
It said the plane was an Airbus A-350, JAL flight 516, which had flown out of Shin Chitose airport in Japan to Haneda.
NHK quoted JAL as saying it believed its plane was hit by another aircraft, possibly a Japan Coast Guard plane.
Japan’s Coast Guard said it is investigating the possibility that its MA-722 aircraft might have collided with the passenger flight on the runway.
Later, Coast Guard spokesperson Yoshinori Yanagishima confirmed the collision between the coast guard aircraft MA722 and the Japan Airlines plane.
Japan’s coast guard said five crewmembers are missing after the collision.
The pilot has evacuated and contacted officials, but the other five crewmembers are unaccounted-for and the condition of the aircraft is also unknown, he said.
Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays.
NHK TV reported that the plane was JAL flight 516 that had flown out of Shin Chitose airport in Japan to Haneda.