Japan Airlines plane in flames on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport

[PeteC]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-67862011

Breaking News. Check in for updates later tonight and tomorrow.

A Japan Airlines plane was in flames as it landed on a runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Tuesday evening.

Footage on broadcaster NHK showed flames coming out of the windows of the aircraft and beneath it.

The runway was also set alight.

NHK, citing authorities, said the plane may have collided with another aircraft after landing at Haneda. There are passengers on board.

It also reported that the plane, JAL 516, had taken off from Hokkaido.

[pharvey]

Just watching live pictures on the BBC News now - plane engulfed in flames and literally disintegrating. All runways at Haneda Airport closed.

Reports coming in that there were 367 passengers [EDIT] Plus 12 Crew on board and there was a collision with a "Coastguard aircraft" - all passengers and crew thankfully evacuated.

Japan in the news for all the wrong reasons in this New Year.

[PeteC]

Bad things happen in 3's. Let's hope not.

[pharvey]

For clarity the collision with the Coastguard Aircraft occurred on the ground - sadly, 5 of the 6 coastguard crew are unaccounted for.

Some images have been shown that were taken on mobile phones during the landing - passengers seemingly incredibly calm despite the collision. Footage of the collision itself on airport cameras has also been shown.

[Nereus]

Beyond belief that all on board the passenger plane were able to escape!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXlz9pPSgEQ

(the embed function for utube no longer works) Turn off the talking heads!

edit: https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/jl51 ... -accident/

[MLS]

A reminder to me that each and every member of cabin crew is highly trained to save my life in an emergency. I am in awe of the JAL crew today.

[PeteC]

I'm shocked at the speed and extent of the flames throughout the passenger cabin. Is it the carbon fiber construction that contributed to all of that? Hopefully all will come out during the investigation. I don't think we have other examples of an Airbus carbon fiber plane having an accident like that, and experiencing a similar set of circumstances.

[PeteC]

(the embed function for utube no longer works) Turn off the talking heads!

The problem is being worked on.

[pharvey]

Beyond belief that all on board the passenger plane were able to escape!

A reminder to me that each and every member of cabin crew is highly trained to save my life in an emergency. I am in awe of the JAL crew today.

Absolutely. JAL have had their issues and some very bad press in years past, but for a number of years now have been highly respected within the industry for their actions and contribution towards airline safety. The Cabin Crews are highly trained and this crew clearly demonstrated that fact - absolutely incredible that all passengers were safely evacuated and the crew themselves were then able to evacuate without injury.

[pharvey]

I'm shocked at the speed and extent of the flames throughout the passenger cabin. Is it the carbon fiber construction that contributed to all of that? Hopefully all will come out during the investigation. I don't think we have other examples of an Airbus carbon fiber plane having an accident like that, and experiencing a similar set of circumstances.

It's a difficult one IMHO - Carbon Fibre will burn more readily than Aluminium (which it has replaced to a vast extent), but also has superior mechanical properties over Aluminium - strength and resistance to corrosion being just 2 factors. Regarding mechanical strength for example, did the fact that the aircraft (shell) was primarily Carbon Fibre save passengers during the initial collision with the Coastguard aircraft?

Of course you also need to look at the materials used internally in the plane - obviously not Carbon Fibre alone. Different materials will also react in vastly different ways when it comes down to degrees of heat - and there would be numerous factors here, fuel and fuel load just for instance.

My honest opinion that other than the exceptional crew, the Carbon Fibre shell likely saved lives in this instance.

[deepee]

The clean up job is going to be a major nightmare considering the ferocity of the fire and the dispersion of all those exotic materials down the runway.
And hopefully the passengers all got away without inhaling any of it too.

[Dannie Boy]

It’s obviously going to take a long time for a full investigation to be completed but hopefully the report will be published in good time, revealing all of the FACTS rather than assumptions. Fortunately nobody was killed in this incident and hopefully the outcome of the investigation will result in enhanced safety.

[Big Boy]

Fortunately nobody was killed in this incident and hopefully the outcome of the investigation will result in enhanced safety.

Apart from the 5 Coast Guard crew.

[Dannie Boy]

Fortunately nobody was killed in this incident and hopefully the outcome of the investigation will result in enhanced safety.

Apart from the 5 Coast Guard crew.

Sorry I was referring to the airliner

[Nereus]

It has not been reported (as far as I know), where the actual collsion occurred, other than on the ground. From that video I suspect that the Airbus has landed on top of the coast guard plane. The fire around the Airbus is from fuel, bearing in mind that as the coast guard plane has been reported as departing, it was probably full of fuel, all in the wing tanks above the fuselage.

The Airbus cabin has obviously not been structually damaged, except pherhaps the landing gear. By international law, the passenger cabin has to be capable of a full evacuation in 90 seconds using only half the exits. The ensuring fire would then have been fed by its own fuel load.

90 seconds to evacuate: how crew training saved 367 passengers from burning jet
https://inews.co.uk/news/world/90-secon ... et-2833476

It is still an incredible feat by the crew!