Hundreds of passengers were able to escape from a Japan Airlines plane that caught fire. One witness described it as a miracle.
COMMAND
All 367 passengers and 12 crew members on Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 were able to evacuate the aircraft before it became completely consumed by fire following a COMMAND.
A crash occurred on the landing strip at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.
According to Japan’s Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito, it was reported on Tuesday.
TV footage captured the moment of impact as a Japan Airlines aircraft collided with a smaller coast guard plane during landing, resulting in an orange fireball and smoke emanating from the airliner’s side while it completed its descent on the runway. According to Saito, the pilot of the coast guard’s Bombardier Dash-8 plane survived, but tragically, five crew members lost their lives.
According to the Associated Press, within 20 minutes, all individuals onboard the passenger aircraft had evacuated via emergency slides as a safety precaution.
Stated Errol Barnett of CBS News.
Sumwalt stated that a contributing factor to Tuesday’s extensive evacuation was “the ability of modern jetliners to withstand crashes.”
According to Sumwalt, the insides of more recent airplane designs are constructed to withstand fire. He stated that the side walls do not ignite as rapidly as they did in older airplanes.
“Image credit: STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images”
This fire will be an important experiment for airplane fuselages made of carbon-composite fibers instead of traditional aluminum skins.
According to safety consultant John Cox, the fuselage may have shielded the passengers from the fire by preventing it from burning through for a certain amount of time.
Japan prides itself on aviation safety, CBS News correspondent Lucy Craft reported from Tokyo. A Japanese transport ministry official told reporters that the airline’s evacuation procedures were “conducted appropriately.”
Sumwalt concurred, acknowledging that the successful evacuation was largely due to the “high level of professionalism exhibited by the cabin crew.”
Satoshi Yamake, a 59-year-old passenger, informed Reuters that the flight attendants advised everyone to remain composed and directed us to disembark the plane.
The footage depicted passengers swiftly and calmly descending down the inflatable evacuation slides before jogging away from the aircraft.
According to safety consultant Cox, the training was effective. When reviewing the video, it is evident that individuals were focused on exiting the plane rather than retrieving items from the overhead compartments.
Travelers describe frightening experience: “All I can say is that it was a miracle”
Anton Deibe, a 17-year-old passenger on a Japan Airlines flight, recounted to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet that the cabin quickly filled with smoke. He and others dropped to the floor and then rushed to open the emergency doors.
A fellow passenger shared with Japan’s NHK TV that flight attendants remained composed and instructed passengers to leave their luggage behind. Shortly after, the cabin lights turned off and the temperature inside began to increase.
Tsubasa Sawada, a 28-year-old resident of Tokyo, informed Reuters that there was an explosion on the plane approximately 10 minutes after the passengers had exited.
Sawada told Reuters that it was a miracle and if they had been late, they could have died.
JAL reported four individuals were transported to a health facility, while Japan’s NHK stated that 14 sustained injuries.
S. Dev
Source: cbsnews.com