Pilots of Japanese plane involved in horror crash didn't realise aircraft was on fire until told by crew

4 January 2024, 13:14

The pilots in the cockpit of the Japan Airlines plane were not aware of the fire until they were informed by the cabin crew, Japanese media reports.

The pilots only realised the plane was on fire when the chief flight attendant asked for permission to open the emergency exits, according to broadcaster NHK.

The passenger plane JAL 516 had been carrying 379 people, before busting into flames after colliding with a coastguard aircraft, according to officials.

It took 18 minutes for the crew to evacuate the plane as it erupted in flames.

Authorities work to put out fire on flames in Japan

All 367 passengers, including eight children, and 12 crew members survived, Japan Airlines and Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said.

Some passengers on the flight managed to capture the chaos inside the plane.

X/Twitter user, @alto_maple, wrote in Japanese: "I thought I was going to die".

The post includes a video showing panicked passengers covering their faces with their hands or masks.

Swede Anton Deibe, 17, who was a passenger on the Japan Airlines plane, told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that "the entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes.

"We threw ourselves down on the floor. Then the emergency doors were opened and we threw ourselves at them.

"The smoke in the cabin stung like hell. It was a hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field."It was chaos," added Anton, who was travelling with his parents and sister.

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Five people were killed on the Japanese coastguard plane, Mr Saito said.

The pilot managed to escape the crash but was severely injured in the incident at Haneda Airport near Tokyo.

The plane, which is based at Haneda, had been due to head to Niigata to deliver relief goods to residents affected by an earthquake in the region on Monday that killed at least 62 people.