Japan Airlines plane bursts into flames at Tokyo airport with 379 people on board, all escape

Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on January 2, 2024

(TOKYO) — A Japan Airlines plane was engulfed in flames after landing at Haneda Airport on Tuesday.

The flight, JL516, which was traveling from Chitose, Hokkaido, may have struck a Japan Coast Guard plane as it was landing, officials told Japanese broadcaster NHK, saying it was a preliminary assessment. The aircraft landed at about 5:47 p.m. local time.

There were 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board when the flight landed, NHK reported. All 379 safely left the plane after it landed, the airline said, according to NHK.

Six people were onboard the Coast Guard aircraft, which was scheduled to fly to Niigata, Japan, for earthquake relief, officials told NHK. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Live video from the airport, an international hub on the outskirts of Tokyo, showed firefighters battling flames that have engulfed the aircraft’s fuselage.

More than 70 firefighting vehicles responded to the runway as the fire raged. The fire was still burning about two hours after the landing.

The plane was an Airbus A350, according to flight tracker FlightAware.

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