A passenger plane collided with a Japanese coast guard aircraft and burst into flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday, officials said. NHK TV reported that all occupants of Japan Airlines flight JAL-516, believed to total 379 people, got out safely before the plane was entirely engulfed in flames. The Japanese coast guard said the pilot of its plane had escaped but five crew members are missing.
Local TV video showed a large eruption of fire and smoke from the side of the Japan Airlines plane as it taxied on a runway. The area around the wing then caught fire. Video aired an hour later showed the plane fully on fire.
NHK TV said the plane was an Airbus A-350 that had flown from Shin Chitose airport, near the city of Sapporo, 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, Yanagisawa said. Kyodo News agency reported that the five were later found, but their conditions were not immediately known.
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