Japan Airlines Flight 516, traveling from New Chitose Airport, burst into flames shortly after landing on Runway C at Haneda Airport on Tuesday at around 5:47 p.m. (local time), according to a startling incident that was reported by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. According to the report, the current state of affairs points to a possible collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft. According to Japan Airlines, there were 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board, including 8 children. Safe evacuation of all 379 occupants of the aircraft, including the crew, was achieved.
The incident has prompted a massive emergency response, with at least 70 fire trucks and other vehicles dispatched by the Tokyo Fire Department to extinguish the flames, as reported by NHK.
The aircraft involved in the collision with the Japan Airlines flight is reported to be an MA722 fixed-wing aircraft belonging to Haneda Air Base. Out of the six people on board the fixed-wing plane, one person has reportedly escaped, but the safety of the remaining five remains unknown.
Video footage from cameras installed at Haneda Airport by Japan Airlines and NHK captured the horrifying moment when flames erupted from the aircraft shortly after it touched down. The incident occurred during what should have been a routine landing, as the flight was scheduled to depart from New Chitose Airport at 4 pm and land at Haneda Airport at 5:40 pm.
In order to gather and organize information about the incident, the government quickly set up an information liaison room at the Prime Minister’s Office Crisis Management Centre at 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday. Around six o’clock at night, Haneda Airport closed all of its runways in response to the emergency, severely disrupting air travel.