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Japan Airlines Flight Engulfed in Flames After Colliding With Coast Guard Aircraft

Madeline Leesman
Madeline Leesman  |  January 02, 2024 10:45 AM

On Tuesday, a Japan Airlines plane became engulfed in flames after it reportedly collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft. According to multiple reports, five of the six coast guard members were killed and all 367 passengers and 12 crew members on the Japan Airlines flight survived. 


The coast guard members were taking supplies to a region that was impacted by a powerful earthquake this week, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a news conference. 

“They were filled with a determined sense of mission, and it is extremely regrettable and distressing what has happened to them,” the prime minister said. “I express my profound condolences to their surviving families.”

According to The New York Times, the Japan Airlines Flight 516 departed New Chitose Airport in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido and was scheduled to land at Haneda at 5:40 p.m. Video footage shows the flight on fire as it landed on the runway.

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The Associated Press reported that the pilot of the coast guard’s Bombardier Dash-8 plane reported to his base that his aircraft exploded after colliding with a commercial plane. This occurred because the Japan Airlines plane landed on a runway where the coast guard craft was preparing for takeoff. 

Anton Deibe, a 17-year-old passenger from Sweden, told reporters that “the entire cabin was filled with smoke within a few minutes.” 

“The smoke in the cabin stung like hell. It was a hell. We have no idea where we are going so we just run out into the field. It was chaos,” Deibe added.