Newly released cockpit voice recordings indicate that Japanese coast guard pilots mistakenly believed they had clearance to enter an active runway moments before their aircraft was struck by a Japan Airlines (JAL) jet in a fatal collision at Tokyo Haneda International Airport on January 2, 2024, Blloomberg reports.
The recordings, made public Wednesday by the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) in a report marking the near one-year anniversary of the tragedy, reveal a discrepancy between air traffic control instructions and the actions taken by the coast guard crew.
The coast guard’s De Havilland Canada Dash 8 propeller plane was en route to deliver aid and supplies to victims of the January 1st earthquake in northwestern Japan. The earthquake was a frequent topic of conversation among the crew, according to the released recordings. Tragically, five of the six crew members on board the smaller aircraft perished when it was hit from behind by the JAL Airbus SE A350 jet, carrying 379 passengers and crew. The impact resulted in a massive fire that engulfed the wide-body jet.
Incredibly, all passengers and crew aboard the commercial jet survived the harrowing incident.
The JTSB report highlights inconsistencies between the instructions issued by air traffic controllers and the subsequent actions of the coast guard pilots, suggesting a possible misinterpretation of the clearance instructions. The report also indicates that the safety board will investigate the role of the air traffic controller who was managing multiple aircraft during the critical moments leading up to the collision.
