First Impressions: A Pilot's Perspective on the Tokyo Airport Runway Collision
Kudos to the skilled cockpit and cabin crew of Japan Airlines Flight 516 for successfully evacuating all passengers after a collision with a Japanese coast guard aircraft at Tokyo's Haneda Airport A remarkable feat of safety and professionalism
Retired after 34 years as a Boeing 777 captain for American Airlines, Les Abend now serves as a CNN aviation analyst and senior contributor to Flying magazine. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own. The recent runway collision at Tokyo's Haneda Airport between a Japan Airlines Airbus 350-900 and a Japanese coast guard aircraft was a potential disaster that could have resulted in a much larger tragedy.
Les Abend
All 379 passengers on JAL Flight 516 were safely evacuated, but tragically, five crew members on the coast guard's De Havilland Canada DHC-8 did not survive. The plane's captain was reported to be in critical condition by public broadcaster NHK.
The cockpit and cabin crew of the JAL flight deserve credit for their preparedness and quick action. They are trained to assess safe exits for passengers and are ready to evacuate if necessary. It is important for passengers to be situationally aware during takeoff and landing, which is why flight attendants request that electronic devices be put away. In the case of the A-350 evacuation, the flight attendants chose the correct exits, and it seems that the pilots followed their evacuation checklist effectively, including shutting off the fuel to the engines.
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The cause of this accident is still unknown and will only be revealed after a thorough investigation. Even though it's only speculation at this point, this crash brings to mind a similar incident that took place in 1991 at Los Angeles International Airport, where a USAir Boeing 737-300 collided with a SkyWest commuter plane, resulting in the deaths of over 30 people.
On the busy day of the accident at the Los Angeles airport, there were multiple movements of airplanes on the runways and taxiways, causing the air traffic controller to lose track of the fact that the Metroliner was still waiting to take off on the runway. Meanwhile, the controller had given clearance for the B-737 to land on the same runway.
As the USAir flight descended into darkness, the crew struggled to discern the silhouette or navigation lights of the smaller SkyWest aircraft positioned at a runway intersection. Tragically, the B-737 collided with the Metroliner almost immediately after touchdown.
The rescue teams are working to retrieve the bodies from the crash site of an airplane that was carrying 72 people in Pokhara, western Nepal on January 15, 2023. Photo credit: Bijay Neupane/Reuters. This image has been provided by a third party and must be credited. No resales or archives.
Title: Essential Information for Pilots Landing in the Himalayas
The incident sparked a range of procedural and technological adjustments. For instance, one change involved the prohibition of controllers from directing aircraft onto a runway for takeoff at night or in low visibility conditions.
The Los Angeles accident, though it occurred in the United States, was noted by most of the aviation world. Pilots are now more cautious about remaining on an active runway for longer than a minute while awaiting takeoff clearance. Similarly, air traffic controllers are more vigilant about procedures involving clearing an airplane to land with another airplane on the same runway awaiting takeoff.
Haneda Airport, one of the busiest in the world, experiences nonstop radio chatter. It is possible that a message from the traffic controller was misunderstood, resulting in one of the planes being in the wrong place. Normally, a clearance is read back and acknowledged by a pilot, but on busy occasions, there might not be an opportunity to provide immediate feedback. Sometimes a transmission gets blocked by another airplane at a critical time, highlighting the importance of both pilots and controllers being situationally aware. It is crucial to note that only one transmission can happen at a time.
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It is unlikely that the pilots of the Airbus A-350 lined up for the wrong parallel runway, as at least one pilot in the cockpit should have noticed the error, and the air traffic controller would have also caught it.
The procedures in Japan closely mirror those in the US, as air traffic controllers are highly skilled and disciplined. Among all the destinations I have traveled to, Japan stands out as one of the safest. Undoubtedly, the investigation into the Haneda Airport accident will uncover the errors that resulted in the collision, with numerous factors at play and a human element likely involved. We must allow the accident investigators the necessary time to determine the probable cause or causes, with the goal of preventing similar tragedies in the future.
Flying to Tokyo? Dont hesitate to board the airplane. I would.
