Tokyo [Japan], Jan 2: Japan Airlines Flight 516, travelling from New Chitose Airport, burst into flames shortly after landing on Runway C at Haneda Airport on Tuesday at around 5:47 p.m. (local time), according to a startling incident that was reported by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. According to the report, the current state of affairs points to a possible collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft. According to Japan Airlines, there were 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board, including 8 children. Safe evacuation of all 379 occupants of the aircraft, including the crew, was achieved.The Tokyo Fire Department has sent out at least 70 fire trucks and other vehicles as part of a massive emergency response in response to the incident, according to NHK. According to reports, the aircraft that collided with the Japan Airlines flight was a fixed-wing MA722 aircraft from Haneda Air Base. One of the six occupants of the fixed-wing aircraft has apparently managed to escape, but it is still unclear how the other five are doing. The terrifying moment when flames shot from the aircraft shortly after it touched down was captured on camera footage from cameras that Japan Airlines and NHK had installed at Haneda Airport. Given that the flight was scheduled to take off from New Chitose Airport at 4 pm and land at Haneda Airport at 5:40 pm, the incident happened during what should have been a routine landing. In order to gather and organise information about the incident, the government quickly set up an information liaison room at the Prime Minister’s Office Crisis Management Centre at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday. Around six o’clock at night, Haneda Airport closed all of its runways in response to the emergency, severely disrupting air travel.Information has been provided by representatives of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism that points to a possible collision between the Japan Airlines Airbus A350 operating out of New Chitose Airport and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft nearby the runway. Official determination of the collision’s cause is still pending. According to the Japan Airlines Building’s disaster prevention centre at Haneda Airport, the fire is restricted to Runway C. The seriousness of the incident raises questions about the safety procedures in place at one of Japan’s busiest airports despite efforts to control the situation, NHK reported.
