A collision between a Japan Airlines plane and a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft at a Tokyo airport a year ago appears to have been the result of multiple instances of human error, according to a report released by government investigators on Wednesday.
On Jan. 2, a nearly full Japan Airlines flight carrying passengers from Japan’s northern prefecture of Hokkaido landed at Haneda Airport just as a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft, headed to help with earthquake relief in western Japan, entered the runway.
Moments later, the two planes collided and burst into flames. Through skill and luck, the flight crew of the Japan Airplanes plane was able to evacuate all 367 passengers and 12 crew members. Five crew members aboard the Coast Guard plane were killed and its captain sustained severe injuries.
Investigators have been looking into what happened during those few minutes leading up to the crash. Based on voice recorder audio and other evidence, the report released on Wednesday by the Japan Transport Safety Board revealed a series of overlapping human lapses.
According to the report, the captain of the Coast Guard aircraft mistakenly believed he had been given permission to enter the runway. Air traffic controllers had instructed the Coast Guard plane to taxi to a holding point before the runway, but he confirmed only part of the instruction with his co-pilot and proceeded to enter.
In the weeks following the crash, the Coast Guard captain told investigators that he believed he had gotten clearance to enter the runway. He said he assumed that his flight’s departure had been given priority because his crew was carrying supplies to the area of Japan struck by a powerful earthquake the previous day.
After relaying instructions to the Coast Guard plane, air traffic controllers turned their attention to monitoring the Japan Airlines flight that was about to land, the report stated. A warning on a monitoring screen showed that the Coast Guard plane had entered, unauthorized, onto the runway, but that alert went unnoticed for over a minute.
In the last moments before the collision, the Japan Airlines plane failed to detect the Coast Guard aircraft on the runway as it was landing. Investigators believe that the runway lighting and the Coast Guard plane’s own lights may have overlapped, making it difficult for the pilot on the landing flight to see.
The safety board designated its report interim. The final report will focus on further analysis and recommendations for preventing the reoccurrence of similar accidents in the future.
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