MADRID, 3 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The state broadcaster NHK has confirmed the discrepancies between the accounts of an air traffic controller and the captain of a Japan Coast Guard plane in relation to the collision of two planes at the Haneda airport in Tokyo (Japan) this Tuesday, which has caused five deceased.
A Ministry of Transport source confirmed that the air traffic controller at the airfield cleared the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 to land on runway C and ordered the Coast Guard aircraft to stay close to it.
However, a Coast Guard source claimed that its pilot had received the green light to take off. Still, Japan’s Transportation Safety Board launched a full-scale investigation Wednesday and officials plan to interview the captains of both planes.
Japan Airlines maintains that its plane proceeded with the landing after confirming the procedure with the control tower and without being aware of any mishap on the runway, where in reality there was a second smaller aircraft that had been mobilized for the tasks. of aid after the powerful earthquake that shook the country on New Year’s, reports the Kiodo news agency.
The conversations recovered after the accident also show an order from the control tower for the plane to wait at a waiting point, off the runway. The crew responds affirmatively to this order, although it is not clear whether the voice appearing in the recording is that of the only survivor or that of his co-pilot, who died as a result of the accident.
The authorities do not rule out that there may be other interactions or even that the crew could have misinterpreted the instructions, which nevertheless seem clear.
The commercial plane crashed at 5:47 p.m. local time in Japan this Tuesday when it collided with a Coast Guard DHC-8 aircraft on landing at Haneda International Airport. All 367 passengers and 12 crew members of the JAL plane were evacuated from the plane, while five of the six people on board the DHC-8 have died.
The accident forced the closure of all four runways at Japan’s busiest airport, but all but the one where the collision occurred were reopened later Tuesday after many flights were cancelled.
AIRBUS PARTICIPATES IN THE RESEARCH
Airbus announced yesterday that it has sent a team of specialists to collaborate with the authorities of Japan and France in the investigation into the accident.
The manufacturer is thus following the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), providing technical assistance to the authorities in charge of clarifying the causes of the event.
The Airbus involved in the accident was delivered to Japan Airlines on November 10, 2021 and was powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, according to the statement.
The manufacturer indicated that it will provide more information about what happened when it has it and is authorized to disclose it. Likewise, he has conveyed his condolences to all those affected by the accident.
