Five die in Japan coastguard aircraft, passenger plane collusion

Five die in Japan coastguard aircraft, passenger plane collusion

Five people aboard a Japan coastguard aircraft died on Tuesday when it collided with a passenger plane on the ground at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

All 379 passengers and crew on board the passenger plane which burst into flames were safely evacuated, Japanese transport minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters.

But five of the six crew members from the smaller plane — bound for central Japan after Monday’s huge earthquake — died, Saito said.

The captain escaped but was injured, he said, cautioning that “we’re not at the stage to explain the cause” of the accident.

The coastguard aircraft was heading to Niigata airport from Haneda to help with the rescue and relief mission following Monday’s earthquake in Ishikawa. It was one of the four planes on a mission to the quake site.

Television and unverified footage shared on social media showed the Japan Airlines (JAL) airliner moving along the runway before a large eruption of orange flames and black smoke burst from beneath and behind it.

Video posted to social media platform X showed people sliding down an inflatable emergency slide from the side of the passenger plane while flames shot out from the rear of the aircraft.

All 367 passengers plus 12 crew onboard were swiftly taken off the plane before dozens of fire engines with flashing blue lights sprayed the fuselage.

They however failed to put out the flames coming out of windows near the wings and the blaze soon engulfed the entire aircraft.

The plane, reportedly an Airbus 350, had arrived from New Chitose Airport serving Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. Those on board included eight children.

‘Sense of mission’

The coast guard plane had been preparing to fly to Ishikawa prefecture to deliver supplies after the devastating New Year’s Day earthquake which killed at least 48 people.

Haneda airport closed all its runways after the incident, Reuters said quoting a spokesperson for the airport.

A transport ministry official said investigations into the incident were ongoing, including exchanges between the flights and air traffic control.

Japan has not suffered a serious commercial aviation accident in decades.