Japan Airlines Fire: The Imperative of a Highly-Trained Crew

This January 2 at 1747 local (Japan Standard Time) a Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900, operating as Flight 516, collided with a Japan Coast Guard De Havilland Canada Dash 8 and caught fire while landing on Runway 34R at Haneda Airport in Tokyo. The runway collision resulted in the deaths of five of the six crew members onboard the Japan Coast Guard Dash. All 367 passengers and 12 crew members on-board the JAL aircraft evacuated.

During a late Tuesday press conference, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed his government to make every effort to swiftly investigate the collision. The Japan Transport Safety Board indicated it would begin its initial investigation this January 3. As of this article posting, no official government opinions or other statements on the accident had been issued.

Anna Mellberg Karlsson, who recently departed Novair after 26-years of service, and most recently was the moderator and host of the EATS 2023 Cabin Crew Heads of Training Session, initially pointed out, “Well trained crew saves lives!” The community expert added, “We train for the unexpected and the majority of our crews can fly a lifetime without any incidents or accidents. Sometimes flying is so routine and we can easily get complacent about what we do.

The importance of taking training seriously and creating valuable training for our crews is important, something that was recently discussed in the Heads of Training Meeting in Cascais.

Today's accident shows just how important this is, a highly trained cabin and flight crew evacuated all passengers safely with less than 50% of the exits available!”

Halldale Group sends its condolences to the families of the deceased crew members of the Japan Coast Guard aircraft.