A traffic control transcript indicates that the Japanese Coast Guard plane was not allowed to take off before it crashed

Tokyo
CNN
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Japanese Coast Guard plane I collided An official transcript of air traffic control communications released Wednesday indicates that a passenger plane at Tokyo's Haneda International Airport was only instructed to “head to a stop” and was not cleared to take off.

The fatal accident resulted in Japan Airlines Flight 516 colliding with a Coast Guard plane after touching down on the runway on Tuesday, causing it to explode into an explosion. Terrifying fireball.

All 379 people on board the Japan Airlines (JAL) plane were safely evacuated. Japanese Transport Minister Tetsu Saito said five of the six crew members of the small Coast Guard plane were killed.

Saito on Wednesday released a transcript of more than four minutes of communications between air traffic controllers and the two planes just before the accident, indicating that the Japan Airlines flight had been given permission to land but not showing clear approval for the Coast Guard plane to take off. .

In another development, publicly available records appear to indicate that out-of-service warning lights — designed to prevent pilots from misdirecting onto the runway — could have been another factor in the crash.

Air traffic control granted the JAL passenger plane permission to land on Runway 34R at 5:43:26 p.m. local time (3:43:26 a.m. ET), according to the transcript.

However, the text does not show clear approval of the Coast Guard plane taking off, instead asking it to “taxi to the holding point” at 5:45:11 PM (3:45:11 AM ET). The Coast Guard aircraft crew confirmed the instructions seconds later, according to the transcript.

About two minutes later, the Japan Airlines flight collided with the Coast Guard plane on the runway, according to a time stamp on the airport surveillance video.

Transport Minister Saito told reporters on Wednesday that the incident was “still under investigation” and the next step would be to listen to the audio recording of the conversation between the Coast Guard pilot and the aviation control tower.

He added that the Ministry of Transport is taking all precautionary measures to prevent the recurrence of such an accident.

In a news conference following Saito's press conference, officials from the Japan Transportation Safety Board (JTSB) said they had recovered the Coast Guard plane's flight and audio recorders. But they added that they were still searching for the two JAL planes.

Another factor that could be investigated as part of the investigation into Tuesday's crash is that runway lights — known as runway stop lights and designed to prevent pilots from misdirecting onto the runway — may have been out of service, according to what is publicly available. Records.

A pilot bulletin said stop strip lighting was “unserviceable” from taxiways C1 to C14, which includes the taxiway where Haneda tower controllers told the Coast Guard flight to hold and wait for takeoff clearance. The Notice – or NOTAM – was first posted publicly on December 25, 2023, and remains active.

An air traffic controller cleared the JAL plane to land on Runway 34R and instructed the Coast Guard plane to “hold steady,” a JTBS official told reporters.

The release of the text comes after Japan Airlines said in a statement late Tuesday that air traffic control had cleared its crew to land before the collision occurred.

Audio from LiveATC.net appears to detail the crew reading the clearance order for runway 34, saying “cleared for landing 34 right.”

Japan Airlines pledged full cooperation in the investigation to determine responsibility for the fatal accident.

Passengers on board the Japan Airlines plane, an Airbus A350, as well as witnesses to the collision, described terror giving way to relief as it became clear that everyone on board had survived.

Incredibly, Japan Airlines said only one person on board its plane suffered bruises, but 13 “requested medical advice due to physical discomfort.”

Runway raidsAs accidents of this type are classified, they are:Rare but can be catastrophic“According to Graham BraithwaiteProfessor of Safety and Accident Investigation at Cranfield University, UK.

CNN's Helen Regan, Pete Muntean and Lauren Koenig contributed reporting.