Police investigate whether negligence caused Japan Airlines crash in Tokyo

Tokyo police to interview people involved in runway collision that killed five Coast Guard personnel

Police in Japan are investigating whether negligence caused the deadly crash between a Japan Airlines flight and a smaller Japan Coast Guard aircraft in Tokyo on Tuesday that left five people dead.

All 379 people on board the Japan Airlines plane miraculously escaped as it was engulfed by a massive fire upon landing at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening.

The passenger plane had collided with the Japan Coast Guard’s De Havilland Dash-8 plane as it prepared to take off, officials said.

The crash killed five out of six of the Coast Guard crew on the plane, which was involved in delivering aid to earthquake victims in north-central Japan, prime minister Fumio Kishida said during a news conference.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) have launched an investigation into the accident with participation from agencies in France and Britain, which were involved in the manufacturing of the Airbus jet.

Tokyo police sources told Kyodo and other Japanese news agencies that they are looking into the possibility professional negligence led to the deaths.

According to a police spokesperson, a special investigation unit has been established at the airport and they are investigating the runway as well as interviewing people who were involved. However, the spokesperson refrained from commenting on whether they are exploring potential professional negligence.

Officials look at the burnt wreckage of a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger plane on the tarmac at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda (AFP via Getty Images)

JTSB has recovered flight and voice recorders from the Coast Guard aircraft, Kyodo news agency reported, citing the agency.

The passenger plane that took off from Sapporo for Tokyo for a 90-minute flight had landing permission from the Haneda airport air traffic control before its approach, Japan Airlines said.

Audio of the incident posted on LiveATC.net, which tracks airport communications, showed that minutes before 6pm local time an unidentified voice can be heard saying: “We have a fire on runway 34R.”

The jetliner appeared to be a blazing ball of fire as it skidded down the runway and an orange glow lit up the runway, videos aired by broadcasters showed.

The plane continued to burn for more than six hours but not before all 367 passengers and 12 crew members were evacuated within 20 minutes of the crash, the airline said.

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 (via REUTERS)

Japan Airlines plane on fire on a runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)

Aviation analysts have echoed the possibility that human error may have resulted in the runway collision, adding that such incidents have become far less frequent with modern ground tracking technology and procedures.

“The root cause of this accident is not known yet,” said Japan’s transport minister Tetsuo Saito.

Yoshio Seguchi, deputy director of the Japan Coast Guard, issued an apology to the families of victims of the crash but shared little details of the incident.

Mr Kishida also lamented the deaths and said: “They were filled with a determined sense of mission, and it is extremely regrettable and distressing what has happened to them.”