Airplane Collision in Japan Fuels Concerns about Aircraft Evacuations

Survivors of a plane crash are forced into close quarters with strangers in darkness, facing a life-or-death situation: maneuvering through seats and debris to locate an exit. As almost 400 individuals successfully escaped a similar ordeal on Japan Airlines flight 516, pressure was mounting in Washington for increased oversight of airplane evacuations.

The plane crashed into a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft after landing at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport, causing a terrifying fireball. The concern is not only whether passengers can safely evacuate a cramped, dark, and chaotic cabin in an emergency, but also whether smaller seat sizes and new cabin hazards hinder the evacuation process, as seen with the 379 people onboard the flight on Tuesday evening.

A Japan Airlines A350 airplane on fire at Haneda international airport in Tokyo.

Issei Kato/Reuters

Japan Airlines jet bursts into flames after collision with earthquake relief plane at Tokyo Haneda airport

The plane was carrying 12 crew members and eight young children, all of whom survived and evacuated before the aircraft was engulfed in flames. The collision on the runway resulted in the deaths of five people on board the Japanese Coast Guard aircraft, which had been dispatched in response to the country's earthquake.

CNN aviation analyst and former FAA official David Soucie expressed concern about the potential impact of passengers' attachment to their carry-on bags, laptops, phones, and other belongings on the ability to evacuate in a similar scenario in the United States.

The exact duration of the evacuation of the burning airliner is unclear. According to Japanese news outlet NHK, the captain was the last to leave the aircraft, 18 minutes after the plane landed. This is significantly longer than the 90-second benchmark used by the FAA. Additionally, it is unknown how long the captain may have stayed on board to complete emergency procedures after the passengers disembarked.

An international investigation into the crash is underway, and preliminary information indicates that the coast guard plane improperly entered the runway where the large Airbus widebody jet was authorized to land.

Evacuation took roughly 5 minutes, passenger said

Following a loud noise, the aircraft came to a halt, and the crew assessed which emergency exits were safe for use. A young passenger politely requested the flight attendants to expedite the disembarkation process. One of them told the media, "for the most part, people remained calm," while patiently waiting for the doors to open. Another witness mentioned that the evacuation process took approximately five minutes, and "there was no sign of passengers panicking."

The check-in area at Tokyo International Airport's Terminal 2 was packed with travelers on January 3, 2024. Flight delays were exacerbated on one of the busiest travel days of the year after New Year's Day holidays due to a collision on the tarmac the night before between a coast guard plane and a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet, leading to the shutdown of one of the main runways.

Over 100 flights were canceled after a crash at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. When asked about their response to the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration informed CNN that they typically monitor foreign investigations for any potential lessons learned.

The FAA mandates that airplane cabins must be able to be evacuated within 90 seconds with half of the exits unavailable. This is a significant challenge in the aftermath of a disaster. Federal regulations require new aircraft models and configurations to undergo evacuation tests with a "representative passenger load of persons in normal health," including women, people over 50, and simulated children under two years old. In 2018, Congress directed the FAA to expand their assessment to include any potential issues related to passenger demographics, seat sizes, legroom space, and aisle width for evacuating passenger planes.

In 2022, the FAA released a report stating that currently used seat pitches can accommodate and not impede egress for 99% of the American population. However, the report's latest tests did not accurately represent today's aircraft cabins, as they only included 60 occupants and did not account for children, seniors, travelers with service animals, or those using wheelchairs. The agency received 26,000 comments when asking for public feedback on the issue.

Calls grow for new testing

Illinois US Senator Tammy Duckworth expressed her concern that Americans would be surprised to discover that the tests bore no resemblance to real-life situations. She is currently facing difficulty in advancing her proposed legislation, which aims to mandate new tests and establish a standard seat size, due to a congressional deadlock on other aviation policy matters.

Duckworth stated in a CNN interview that the Japan Airlines incident highlights the need for the FAA to establish a more comprehensive emergency evacuation standard that considers real-life conditions, such as the presence of carry-on bags, children, seniors, and passengers with disabilities, in order to ensure the safety of flying. The FAA informed CNN that the report includes the findings of multiple simulated emergency evacuations and suggestions for improvement.

The Japan Airlines plane on fire after touching down at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on January 2.

Issei Kato/Reuters

Japan coast guard plane not cleared for takeoff before deadly runway crash, air traffic control transcript suggests

According to former FAA inspector and investigator Soucie, the FAA conducts demanding evacuation tests, which are so true to life that some volunteer participants have been harmed. However, he believes that studying real-world evacuations is incomparable in today's safest-ever era for air travel. "The information gathered from this new investigation will be incredibly valuable," he said. Investigators will analyze the events in Japan to determine whether it confirms or refutes our assumptions about evacuations.

As investigations continue, the aviation industry widely respects the cabin crew's response. Sara Nelson, president of the US-based Association of Flight Attendants labor union, highlighted the varying duties and certifications of flight attendants, emphasizing their direct impact on aircraft evacuation procedures.

Nelson also has concerns about the lack of significant changes to aircraft evacuation standards over the past seven decades, and how many passengers neglect to pay attention to lifesaving information during the preflight emergency briefing.