Runway at Tokyo’s Haneda airport reopens a week after fatal collision

The collision occurred on Tuesday evening when JAL Flight 516, carrying 379 passengers and flight crew, landed right behind a coastguard aircraft preparing for take off on the same runway; both became engulfed in flames. The crash was suspected to have been caused by human error. All JAL’s Airbus A350-900 airliner occupants were safely evacuated in 18 minutes.

Inspectors examine the burnt-out Japan Airlines plane (Kyodo News via AP)

The captain of the coastguard’s much smaller Bombardier Dash-8 escaped with burns, but his five crew members died. Haneda reopened three of its runways the night of the crash.

The last runway, however, had remained closed for the investigation, clean-up of the debris, and repairs. Japan’s transport ministry said the runway reopened early on Monday, and the airport is ready for full operations. The collision caused more than 1,200 flights to be cancelled and affected about 200,000 passengers during the New Year holiday period.

Passengers wait in lines for a refund following the plane collision (Kyodo News via AP)

The victims’ bodies were due to be returned to their families on Sunday following police autopsies as part of a separate investigation into possible professional negligence. The investigation focuses on what caused the coastguard flight crew to believe they had a go-ahead for their take off, while the traffic control transcript showed no clear confirmation between them and the traffic control.

Traffic control staff assigned to the runway missed an alert system when it indicated the unexpected entry of the coastguard plane.

The Haneda airport traffic control added a new position on Saturday specifically assigned to monitor the runway to step up safety measures.