On January 2, a Japanese airliner and a smaller plane collided at Tokyo Haneda Airport. All 379 people aboard the airliner survived. However, five of the people on the smaller plane, a Bombardier Dash-8, died.
The JAL spokesperson said, “Right after the plane touched down, the pilot felt a sudden shock, and lost control to stay in the runway. A fire took place but the pilots did not recognize it in the beginning and learned about it [through the] cabin attendants.”
The crew had to use their megaphones to direct all the passengers to escape in what was referred to as “a miraculous 18 minutes.”
Japanese authorities said that the Bombardier was not cleared for takeoff on that runway. This and the transcript (which can be read in its entirety here) contradict the coastguard plane captain’s claim that they had been given permission to enter the runway.
