KUALA LUMPUR – For passengers onboard Japan Airlines (JAL) Flight 516, everything was on track for them to land in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on January 2.
The Airbus A350-900 roaring in from Hokkaido’s New Chitose Airport was scheduled to land on Runway C around 5.47pm.
However, fear and dread started to set in among the 379 people onboard – 367 passengers and 12 crew members – when the commercial jet slammed into a stationary DHC-8 aircraft with six people onboard, setting off a huge orange fireball with it.
The Airbus also skidded along the runway for about a kilometre before coming to a stop – as people around the world remained glued to their screens watching the horror unfold.
While the JAL pilots in the cockpit did not know that a fire was raging outside, flight attendants and passengers were well aware as smoke started to fill the cabin after hearing a loud bang. Some of the passengers even managed to share videos of the panic that ensued in the cabin.
The quick-thinking nine attendants repeatedly urged the passengers to calm down as the chief attendant tried hailing the pilots for permission to open the emergency exits. By this time, the pilots were aware that the aircraft was on fire while emergency services outside were mobilising more than 70 fire engines to the scene.
Although the plane had eight emergency exits, only two at the front and one at the rear were safe to use. The rest were blocked by the growing blaze.
Things did not go as planned as the intercom system was broken and the pilots were unable to greenlight the opening of exits.
In a split second decision, the flight attendants opened the left rear door with the escape chutes.
To get the passengers moving quickly, the crew gave clear orders with the help of megaphones and their voices.
Although this decision was part of evacuation SOPs, the cabin crew’s decision ultimately saved the lives of everyone onboard, including eight children under the age of two.
The last person to leave the plane was the captain, who set foot on the runway at 6.05pm.
While the collision took the lives of five coast guards and left the pilot severely injured, only a handful of JAL passengers requested medical checkups – 14 wanted consultations, 13 complained of physical discomfort, and one had bruises.
The Japan Transport Safety Board is continuing its investigation into the incident. – January 4, 2024