Japan issues improved emergency measures following fatal plane collision at Haneda airport
- The measures – include more visible stop line markings on taxiways leading to runways and use of clearer language in traffic control communication
- The rules will take effect immediately and come after a passenger jet and a coastguard aircraft collided on the same runway on January 2, killing five people
Japan’s transport ministry said on Tuesday it has introduced improved emergency measures for the country’s airports, a week after a fatal collision between a Japan Airlines jetliner and a coastguard plane at Tokyo’s busy Haneda airport that is seen as a result of human error.
The measures – including more visible stop line markings on taxiways leading to runways and use of clearer language in traffic control communication – are to be implemented right away at Haneda while they are slated to go into effect at other airports across the country in the coming weeks.
The January 2 collision occurred when JAL Flight 516 carrying 379 passengers and crew landed right behind the coastguard aircraft preparing to take off on the same seaside runway, engulfing both aircraft in flames.
All occupants of the JAL’s Airbus A350-900 airliner safely evacuated in 18 minutes. The captain of the coastguard’s much smaller Bombardier Dash-8 escaped with burns, but his five crew members died.
The probe into the collision has focused on what caused the coastguard flight crew to believe they had a go-ahead for their take off. A partial release of the air traffic control transcript showed no clear take-off approval was given to the coastguard plane.
According to the text, the Tokyo air control gave the JAL plane permission to land on the 34R runway, noting that there is a departing plane, with the JAL pilot repeating the instruction. In the transcript, the traffic control tells the coastguard plane that it was given a “No. 1” priority for take-off, an expression some experts say might have led the Bombardier crew to mistakenly believe they got a permission to proceed to the runway.
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Japan Airlines flight catches fire after apparent collision with another plane at Haneda airport
According to a report Tuesday in the Asahi newspaper, the coastguard plane may have started communication with the traffic control only after the JAL plane got its landing permission and may not have been aware of the airliner’s arrival.
