Five Killed After Japan Airlines Flight Crashes with Japan Coast Guard Aircraft

Joe Cortez January 02, 2024

The Japan Airlines flight crashed with the Coast Guard aircraft upon landing, leaving a trail of flames down the runway and ending with five service members killed.

A Japan Airlines flight collided with a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft upon landing at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND), leaving five of the six people on the Coast Guard airframe dead.

All 367 passengers and flight crew aboard the Japan Airlines flight were able to evacuate, resulting in zero deaths aboard the Airbus A350-900 involved in the flight.

Authorities Investigating How Accident Took Place

The incident happened January 2, 2024, at 5:47 p.m. local time on runway 34R. Airbus confirmed the aircraft – Japan Airlines Flight 516 with tail number JA13XJ – landed on top of a Japanese Coast Guard DHC-8 airframe. The A350 was delivered to Japan Airlines on November 10, 2021, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.

Airbus regrets to confirm that an A350-900 operated by Japan Airlines was involved in an accident during flight #JAL516 from Sapporo New Chitose Airport to Haneda International Airport shortly after 17:47 (local time) on 02 January 2024. All 367 passengers and 12 crew members…

— Airbus (@Airbus) January 2, 2024

Video captured at the airport shows one of the aircraft exploded upon collision, followed by the Japan Airlines A350 skidding down the runway with a collapsed front landing gear. Air Traffic Controllers were quick to close the airport shortly after the accident.

Japan Airlines flight JL516, an Airbus A350-941, collided with a Coast Guard plane at Haneda Airport:pic.twitter.com/60DlACUDJc

— Aviation Safety Network (ASN) (@AviationSafety) January 2, 2024

The Japanese Coast Guard aircraft was reportedly delivering emergency earthquake aid after a 7.5 earthquake struck northwest of Suzu, Japan. While the aircraft captain survived, five of the crewmen were lost in the accident.

All 367 passengers aboard the Japan Airlines flight were able to evacuate before the aircraft was engulfed in flames. Officials are praising the crew for their ability to get everyone off the aircraft quickly before any lives were lost.

The incident will be investigated by the Japanese Transport Safety Board and France’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety. Investigators have not released any clues as to how the crash happened. Japan Airlines has not released a comment about the accident as of press time.

This is a breaking news story and will be edited as more information becomes available. Additional information on the flight can be found on the FlyerTalk Forums. The aircraft depicted above was the Japan Airlines A350 involved in the incident.

Feature image courtesy: Takeshi Osada/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 DEED