TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Transport Ministry announced Tuesday that it has introduced improved emergency measures for the country’s airports, one week later. Fatal accident between Japan Airlines jetliner and Japan Coast Guard plane The accident appears to have been the result of human error at Tokyo’s busy Haneda Airport.
The measures, which include improved visibility of stop line markings on taxiways leading to runways and the use of clearer language in traffic control communications, will be implemented immediately at Haneda and will be implemented in the future. It is expected to be implemented at other airports across the country in the coming weeks. .
The Jan. 2 collision occurred when JAL Flight 516, carrying 379 passengers and crew, landed just after a Japan Coast Guard aircraft that was preparing to take off from the same seaside runway. Both planes are engulfed in flames.
The entire crew of the JAL Airbus A350-900 passenger plane was safely evacuated within 18 minutes. The captain of the Coast Guard’s much smaller Bombardier Dash-8 escaped with burns, but five of her crew members were killed.
The investigation into the crash is focused on what led the Coast Guard crew to believe they had the green light to take off. Some air traffic control records released showed that the Coast Guard plane was not given clear clearance to take off.
According to the document, Tokyo air traffic control gave permission for the JAL plane to land on Runway 34R because there was a plane taking off, and the pilot of the JAL plane repeated the instructions. Records say controllers were given the number “No. 1” to the Coast Guard plane. The takeoff priority was “1,” and some experts say this wording may have led the Bombardier crew to mistakenly believe they had clearance to enter the runway.
According to a report in the Asahi Shimbun on Tuesday, the Japan Coast Guard plane began communicating with air traffic control after the JAL plane received permission to land, and may not have been aware of the passenger plane’s arrival.
The ministry’s new emergency measures specifically ask pilots to make sure they understand the terminology associated with runway approaches, repeating instructions from air traffic controllers and asking if they have any questions. It also instructs traffic control to avoid using numerical terms such as “number 1” to indicate priority for takeoffs and landings, to avoid confusion.
Starting next Saturday, Haneda’s control tower has set up a new position specifically assigned to monitor radar systems that indicate unauthorized runway approaches.
Haneda Airport is the third busiest airport in the world and is the preferred of the two Tokyo area airports due to its convenient access to the city center. During peak hours, planes arrive and depart every few minutes, a frequency comparable to Tokyo’s commuter trains.