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Cargo plane crashlands at Tokyo airport, 2 killed
A FedEx cargo plane en route from China crashed in high winds and exploded in a ball of flames at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Monday, killing both pilots.
A FedEx cargo plane en route from China crashed in high winds and exploded in a ball of flames at Tokyo’s Narita airport on Monday, killing both pilots.
The pair, believed to be US citizens, were reportedly the only two people aboard the wide-body McDonnell Douglas MD-11, which was flying in from Guangzhou in southern China.
The accident was believed to be the worst ever at Japan’s largest airport, one of the busiest air hubs in the world, and the meteorological agency said it had warned airlines of a risk of wind shear.
Television footage showed FedEx Flight 80 touching down about 0320 IST on Monday. The rear wheels hit the tarmac and then the aircraft’s nose hit the runway before the plane bounced onto its left wing.
It then immediately exploded into flames and skidded at high speed while billowing black smoke, before flipping onto its left side and coming to a halt off the side of the runway.
Fire engines and scores of fire-fighters in silver suits rushed to the gutted aircraft, with orange flames still shooting out of its fuselage, to douse the fire with foam.
