Airbus has announced that a team of specialists has been dispatched to support relevant authorities in the investigation of an aircraft collision involving one of its A-350 aircraft, which was delivered to Japan Airlines.
In a press release on Tuesday, Airbus stated its commitment to providing technical assistance to the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) of France and the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB), both of which are leading the investigation, according to Xinhua news agency.
Tragically, five out of the six crew members aboard a Japan Coast Guard aircraft, involved in the collision with a Japan Airlines passenger plane at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, were confirmed dead. The captain, who managed to escape earlier, sustained severe injuries, as reported by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK.
The collision occurred between the Japan Airlines aircraft, operating as flight MA-722, and a Bombardier Dash-8 from the Coast Guard. Both aircraft caught fire during the incident. The Coast Guard plane was taxiing on the runway to transport relief goods for earthquake-affected areas in Niigata Prefecture, following a series of significant tremors with magnitudes of up to 7.6 that struck central Japan on Monday afternoon, according to the Coast Guard spokesperson Yoshinori Yanagishima.
Despite the severity of the collision, all 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board the Japan Airlines flight managed to escape from the burning aircraft without life-threatening injuries. The NHK reported this remarkable outcome after the collision with the smaller Coast Guard aircraft.
