JAL A350 Hits a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 at Tokyo Haneda During Landing, 5 Dead

In a terrible accident, a JAL A350-900 hit a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 upon landing at Tokyo Haneda earlier today. Everyone onboard the JAL aircraft was evacuated while five out of six crew members of the Dash 8 were reported dead.

Continue reading to learn more.

JAL Flight 516 Bursts into Flames as It Hits a Coast Guard Dash 8

JAL flight 516 operated by an Airbus A350-900 registered JA13XJ took off from Sapporo New Chitose Airport runway 19R at 4:27PM. Upon landing on Tokyo Haneda Airport’s runway 34R at 5:47PM, the aircraft burst into flames. The aircraft hit a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 Q300 registered MA722.

The A350 was equipped with a total of 369 seats. According to JAL, there were 367 passengers on the flight and all of them evacuated safely. The 12 crew members on the flight evacuated safely too. Given how terrifying the video of the crash looks, this is a testament to the amazing level of safety in today’s aviation – even when it comes to the worst.

The aircraft appears to have burst into flames upon landing and then continued to roll down the runway in that state for a while. L1 door and L4 door slides appear to have been deployed on the port side while only L1 door slide appears have been deployed on the starboard side. Other exists including overwing exits appear not to have been used due to the flames.

Unfortunately, things did not end as positively for the Japan Coast Guard Dash 8. One crew member evacuated while five could not initially be located. The five have now been found and the police confirmed that all five have lost their lives in the accident. The aircraft’s captain is in critical condition.

【羽田空港 日本航空の機体が炎上】
国土交通省東京空港事務所によりますと、羽田空港でJALの旅客機から炎があがっていると聞いているが客が搭乗しているかどうかなどはまだわからない、情報を確認中だと話していました。https://t.co/UGWveQ1hVi#nhk_video pic.twitter.com/s4YDQhcfll

— NHKニュース (@nhk_news) January 2, 2024

Footage from JAL Flight 516 Passengers

Unsurprisingly given the age we live in, footage taken by passengers onboard the flight started to emerge not long after the accident. What stands out is that no passengers appear to have taken their baggage off the plane with them – something that is critical in making evacuation as fast and as safe as possible.

死ぬかと思った pic.twitter.com/S7rDPmyssl

— あ (@alto_maple) January 2, 2024

Photo by #JAL pax @wmanzione clearly shows extensive collision damage to #A350 after hitting #Dash8 in a runway incursion at HND today #Japan #aircrash pic.twitter.com/jP7ppZGxu4

— Andreas Spaeth (@SpaethFlies) January 2, 2024

Words of one of the passengers: “For the first time in my life, I felt like my life was in danger. I was sitting in 45H on the A350, and immediately after the huge impact, flames erupted from both wings… Only the front door could be opened, and as the cabin was filling with smoke, I only escaped with only my cell phone.”

生まれて初めて、生命の危機を感じました。
A350の45Hに座っていましたが、ものすごい衝撃の直後、両翼から炎が…
前のハッチしか開かず、機内に煙が充満する中ケータイだけ手に脱出してきました。 pic.twitter.com/is5R8KccSw

— Ricole (@ricole0704) January 2, 2024

The First A350 Hull Loss and a Natural Disaster-Intertwined Dash 8

The Airbus A350 involved in the accident – JA13XJ – was delivered to JAL in November 2021. It was one of JAL’s 16 Airbus A350-900s, all used exclusively on the airline’s domestic flights. JAL also recently received its first A350-1000 and has 12 more on order. The longer variant will be its international flagship.

Given the extensive damage the aircraft sustained (it completely burned), this accident is the first A350 hull loss ever. It is also the first JAL hull loss in nearly 40 years and the first hull loss at Tokyo Haneda Airport in just over 40 years.

As for the Dash 8 Q300, that aircraft was delivered to the Japan Coast Guard in December 2009 and was based in Tokyo. According to the Japan Coast Guard, the aircraft was headed to Niigata to deliver aid to the area affected by yesterday’s massive earthquake.

The same airframe was in Sendai for maintenance when a tsunami hit the region back in 2011. It took a year for the aircraft to be brought back into an airworthy condition. Sadly, just over a decade later, a terrible fate met the aircraft.

Haneda Airport Open Now

For hours after the accident, all Haneda Airport runways were closed – flights headed to the airport diverted or were canceled. Most of the flights diverted to Nagoya Chubu Airport with some also diverting to Tokyo Narita and other airports around Japan.

Now the airport has resumed operation, with Qatar Airways flight 812 from Doha being the first to land. The Qatar Airways A350-900 landed on runway 34L at 10:04PM.

Summary

In a terrifying accident, a JAL A350-900 burst into flames upon landing at Tokyo Haneda. The aircraft hit another aircraft. Luckily, it seems like everyone from the A350 evacuated safely. Unfortunately, most of the crew of the Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 appears to have been lost.

I will keep this story updated.