- Japan Airlines Airbus A350 collides with another aircraft at Tokyo Haneda Airport, with flames engulfing fuselage.
- Video shows aircraft rolling down runway with fire coming from windows and engine area.
- Local media says all crew and passengers evacuated safely, but there may be fatalities in the other aircraft involved.
Japan Airlines flight JL516, a two year old Airbus A350 registration JA13XJ has collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft on the runway at Tokyo-Haneda Airport. Video of the landing aircraft, taken as night fell on Tuesday evening whilst on fire with rescue operations now underway. According to reports all passengers have been evacuated. However, five of the six individuals onboard the smaller Coast Guard plane are currently unaccounted for.
Footage from the scene shows fire trucks in attendance, but the aircraft is completely alight. This represents the first-ever Airbus A350 hull loss, coming almost nine years after the type first entered service with Qatar Airways in January 2015.
The Japan Coast Guard De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315Q MPA registration JA722 was awaiting departure to Ishikawa Prefecture with aid following the New Year’s Day Earthquake. The aircraft was completely destroyed in the collision and engulfed in a fireball.
Because of the accident involving flight JL516 Haneda Airport is currently closed. Inbound flights are diverting to other airports around Japan.
Airbus said in a statement that the aircraft involved in the accident, registered under the number JA13XJ, was MSN 538, delivered to Japan Airlines from the production line on 10 November 2021. It was powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.
