A passenger plane burst into flames as it landed at a Tokyo airport Tuesday, with hundreds on board safely evacuated after an apparent collision with a coast guard aircraft.
Dramatic footage from Japanese public broadcaster NHK showed plumes of orange fire and black smoke engulfing the Japan Airlines plane as it landed at Haneda airport in the country’s capital.
Around 400 passengers and crew were able to make it out, NHK reported.
Japan’s Coast Guard said it was investigating the possibility that one of its aircraft collided with the passenger jet, according to the Reuters news agency.
Five out of the six crew aboard the coast guard aircraft were unaccounted for, NHK reported. It added, citing a coast guard official, that the aircraft was going to fly to Niigata prefecture on the country’s west coast for earthquake relief after a series of strong quakes killed at least 48 people and left widespread damage.
NHK reported the plane was JAL flight 516, which had taken off from New Chitose Airport in the northern Japanese region of Hokkaido at 4:15 p.m. local time (2:15 a.m. ET), according to Flight Aware.
All runaways at the airport were closed, according to NHK, citing the Japan Airport Terminal, which manages the airport’s domestic terminal.
The local fire department deployed at least 70 fire trucks and other vehicles to extinguish the fire, it added.
Haneda Airport, also known as Tokyo International Airport, was the busiest airport in the Asia Pacific region in 2023, according to global flight data provider OAG.
*Text, except headline, courtesy: NBC News
