A passenger plane collided with a Japanese coast guard aircraft and burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday. According to NHK TV, all occupants of Japan Airlines flight JAL-516, totaling 379 people, escaped safely before the plane was entirely engulfed in flames. However, the Japanese coast guard reported that the pilot of its plane had escaped, but five crewmembers are missing.
Local TV footage showed a large eruption of fire and smoke from the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway, with the area around the wing catching fire. An hour later, the plane was fully on fire. NHK TV reported that the plane was an Airbus A-350 that had flown from Shin Chitose airport to Haneda.
Coast Guard spokesperson Yoshinori Yanagishima confirmed the collision between the passenger plane and its flight MA-722, a Bombardier Dash-8. It was not immediately known if the pilot who evacuated was injured, or if the five crewmembers were trapped inside the aircraft.
Kyodo News agency reported that the five missing crewmembers were later found, but their conditions were not immediately known. According to an account from passenger Anton Deibe, the entire cabin was filled with smoke within minutes. Deibe described a chaotic escape, where the smoke stung and filled the cabin rapidly.
The coast guard plane, which was based at Haneda, had been scheduled to head to Niigata to deliver relief goods to residents affected by a deadly earthquake in the region on Monday.
Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays.