Japan releases transcripts of fatal Tokyo runway collision

TOKYO – The Japanese authorities said on Jan 3 a passenger jet that collided with a coast guard turboprop at a Tokyo airport was given permission to land, but the smaller plane was not cleared for take-off, based on transcripts of conversations with the control tower.

All 379 people miraculously escaped the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350

that erupted into flames after colliding with a De Havilland Dash-8 coast guard turboprop shortly after landing at Haneda Airport on Jan 2.

But five died among the six coast guard crew responding to

a major earthquake on the west coast

, while the captain, who escaped the wreckage, was badly injured.

The authorities have only just begun their investigations and there remains uncertainty over the circumstances surrounding the incident, including how the two aircraft ended up on the same runway.

Transcripts of traffic control instructions released by the authorities appeared to show the Japan Airlines plane

had been given permission to land,

but the coast guard aircraft had been told to taxi to a holding point near the runway.

An official from Japan’s civil aviation bureau told reporters there was no indication in those transcripts that the coast guard aircraft had been granted permission to take off.

The captain of the coast guard plane said he had entered the runway after receiving permission, a coast guard official said, while acknowledging there was no indication in the transcripts that he had been cleared to do so.

“The transport ministry is submitting objective material and will fully cooperate with the... investigation to ensure we work together to take all possible safety measures to prevent a recurrence,” Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters.

The Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) is investigating the incident,

with participation by agencies in France,

where the Airbus airplane was built, and Britain, where its two Rolls-Royce engines were made, people familiar with the matter said.

The JTSB has recovered flight and voice recorders from the coast guard aircraft, the authorities said.

Tokyo police are investigating whether possible professional negligence led to deaths and injuries, several news outlets, including Kyodo news agency and Nikkei business newspaper, said.

The police set up a special unit at the airport to investigate the runway and planned to interview those involved, a spokesperson said, but declined to say if they were examining the negligence concerns.

“There’s a strong possibility there was a human error,” said aviation analyst Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who is a former JAL pilot. “Aircraft accidents very rarely occur due to a single problem, so I think that this time, too, there were two or three issues that led to the accident.”

At a series of press conferences since the crash, officials and airline executives have been asked what information the crew received from traffic control and why both planes ended up on the same runway.

Public broadcaster NHK was among media outlets that said officials had offered conflicting reports on the instructions given to the coast guard plane, raising questions over whether it was told to approach and stop before the runway or take-off.

In a statement on Jan 3, JAL said its aircraft received and repeated the landing permission from air traffic control before approaching and touching down.

All passengers and crew were evacuated

within 20 minutes of the crash, but the aircraft, engulfed in flames, burned for more than six hours, the airline said.

The Japan Coast Guard has declined to comment on the circumstances of the crash.

The coast guard aircraft, one of six based at the airport, had been due to deliver aid to regions hit by an earthquake on Jan 1, with survivors facing freezing temperatures and the prospect of heavy rain.

The collision forced the cancellation of 137 domestic and four international flights on Jan 3, the government said.

But emergency flights and high-speed rail services have been requested to ease passenger congestion, Transport Minister Saito said. REUTERS