Japan Releases Transcripts Of Fatal Plane Crash

Japanese Authorities have said on Wednesday that a passenger jet that collided with a Coast Guard turboprop at a Tokyo airport was given permission to land, but the smaller plane was not cleared for take-off, based on transcripts of conversations with the control tower.

All 379 people aboard the Japan Airlines (JAL) (9201.T) Airbus A350 had a miraculous escape after it erupted in flames following Tuesday’s crash with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop shortly after landing at Haneda airport.

But five died among the six Coast Guard crew who were due to depart on a flight responding to a major earthquake on the west coast, while the captain, who escaped the wreckage, was badly injured.

Authorities have only just begun their investigations and there remains uncertainty over the circumstances surrounding the incident, including how the two aircraft ended up on the same runway.

But transcripts of traffic control instructions released by authorities appeared to show the Japan Airlines plane had been given permission to land but that the Coast Guard aircraft had been told to taxi to a holding point near the runway.

An official from Japan’s civil aviation bureau told reporters there was no indication in those transcripts that the Coast Guard aircraft had been granted permission to take off.

The captain of the Coast Guard plane said he had entered the runway after receiving permission, a coast guard official said, while acknowledging that there was no indication in the transcripts that he had been cleared to do so.

“The transport ministry is submitting objective material and will fully cooperate with the … investigation to ensure we work together to take all possible safety measures to prevent a recurrence,” Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters.

The Japan Safety Transport Board (JTSB) is investigating the incident, with participation by agencies in France, where the Airbus airplane was built, and Britain, where its two Rolls-Royce engines were made, people familiar with the matter said.

REUTERS