A Japan Airlines aircraft carrying 379 passengers caught fire upon landing at Tokyo Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening. The incident occurred after the plane reportedly collided with a smaller coastguard aircraft on the runway.

Of the six people aboard the coastguard plane, five crew have been found dead while the pilot was able to escape.

The Airbus A350, only two years old and operating as flight JL516, had just completed a 1-hour and 20-minute journey from Sapporo in Hokkaido province.

A live stream of the landing captured the moment the aircraft touched down, erupting into flames and casting an orange glow across the night sky as it rolled down the runway.

All of the 379 passengers and crew on board the Japan Airlines aircraft have been evacuated.

In response to the emergency, Haneda Airport closed all runways and suspended all flights. The situation is currently under ongoing emergency managemen

Despite efforts by airport fire services, the aircraft continued to burn after coming to a stop, leading to the complete engulfment of the plane. The fuselage burned out.

” Rodger Whitfield, a former commercial pilot, told Sky News “I think first of all, you’ve got to say that we just witnessed a miracle.

“The way they got all those passengers off that aeroplane is almost beyond belief…

“For the crew to have got all the passengers off, it’s a miracle. There’s no two ways about it.”

Learn more from Sky News

Statement from Japan Airlines

Collision Incident Involving Japan Airlines Flight JAL516 and Japan Coast Guard Aircraft

We regret to inform you that on the evening of January 2nd, JL516 was involved in a collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft during its landing at Haneda Airport, resulting in a fire on the runway. Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased members of the Japan Coast Guard. We want to assure you that all passengers and crew on our flight were safely evacuated. We will sincerely and wholeheartedly respond to the requests and inquiries of customers who have been involved in an accident.

We would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the distress and inconvenience caused to our passengers, their families, and all those affected by this accident. We would like to continue to assure you that we will provide our full cooperation in the investigation of this unfortunate event.

As a result of this accident,one of the runway at Haneda Airport is not available,and JAL Group flight operations are experiencing tremendous impact.
We would like to extend our sincerest apologies for the distress and inconvenience.
We strongly recommend to check the latest flight information before departure.

January 4, 2024
Japan Airlines