A Japan Airlines passenger plane was hit by a Coast Guard aircraft in a fiery collision at Tokyo's Haneda airport. All 379 passengers and crew on board the passenger plane which burst into flames were safely evacuated, miraculously but five of six crew on the Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 plane it struck during landing have died. Experts said that the successful evacuation was possible because of Japan Airlines’ rigorous safety culture.
Graham Braithwaite, professor of safety and accident investigation at the UK’s Cranfield University, said, “From what I saw on the footage, I was surprised and relieved that everyone got out. It’s such a severe impact for any aircraft to have to withstand. But knowing what I know about that airline, and how much effort they put into safety and into crew training, the fact that they did do such a good job shouldn’t be such a surprise.”
But Japan Airlines ensured safety after a catastrophic accident nearly 40 years ago when on August 12, 1985, JAL flight 123 from Tokyo to Osaka crashed, killing 520 out of the 524 onboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history.
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Graham Braithwaite said, “Clearly the effect was profound on the airline. In a culture like Japan’s, they took that responsibility as a group and wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again. So when things go wrong, they see it in terms of how they can learn. Everything is an opportunity to improve.”
{{/usCountry}}Graham Braithwaite said, “Clearly the effect was profound on the airline. In a culture like Japan’s, they took that responsibility as a group and wanted to make sure nothing like that ever happened again. So when things go wrong, they see it in terms of how they can learn. Everything is an opportunity to improve.”
{{/usCountry}}“The feeling was, there are people who’ve joined our business who don’t know what it’s like to go wrong. Everyone has to understand how much effort goes into safety,” he said.
The professor said that there are called runway incursions, and are “rare but can be catastrophic."
But JAL employees know all too well that aviation’s safety records are “written in the blood of others who haven’t been so fortunate", a European pilot told CNN, explaining that accidents become lessons which are “shared across the industry so crew can all be better at their jobs.”
Steven Erhlich, chair of PilotsTogether, said, “It’s too soon to comment on the specifics of the incident, but what’s clear is that the crew performed in an exemplary fashion. The safety training that airlines - in this case JAL - put the crews through on a continuous basis paid off allowing for evacuation within 90 seconds."