Japan
Tokyo Airport: Plane catches fire on landing
A Japan Airlines plane burns on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. photo
© Uncredited/Kyodo News/AP/dpa
A huge fireball at the airport in Tokyo, but the accident appears to be minor: passengers and crew members can leave the plane.
Every 400 or so passengers get one The plane that caught fire at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport was able to leave the plane. The airline Japan Airlines (JAL) announced this on Tuesday evening. The passenger plane collided with a Japanese Coast Guard plane while landing at Tokyo airport, Japanese media reported, citing the Transport Ministry.
The JAL plane with flight number 516 coming from Hokkaido in northern Japan caught fire on the runway and burned out completely. There were 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board. They were able to leave the JAL plane.
As the television station TBS reported, the coast guard plane wanted to bring material to the earthquake zone on the west coast of the country. At least 48 people have died in a series of earthquakes there since New Year’s Day. There was serious damage. The pilot of the plane was injured, it was said. The fate of the remaining five people on board the coast guard aircraft was not immediately known. Pictures from the television station TBS showed how the passengers of the JAL plane left the plane via an emergency slide while the fire was being extinguished. All runways have been closed, the ministry said.