Japan Airlines said on Thursday that it expects losses of more than $100 million after one of its planes was destroyed in a runway collision this week at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
The 379 passengers and crew on board the JAL (9201.T) Airbus (AIR.PA) A350 widebody jet escaped before the plane was completely engulfed in flames that took more than six hours to extinguish.
However, five of the six crew members of the other aircraft – a smaller Coast Guard plane on its way to deliver aid to earthquake-ravaged areas on Japan’s west coast – were killed, and the surviving pilot was severely injured.
Transport authorities are investigating the circumstances that led to the Coast Guard plane entering the runway where the passenger jet was landing as investigators combed the charred wreckage on Thursday. According to media reports, police are also investigating possible professional negligence in the case.
Air traffic control ordered the Coast Guard plane to proceed to a holding point near the runway minutes before the crash, according to transcripts released by authorities, instructions the pilot appeared to have read back in acknowledgement.
According to the transcripts, Japanese authorities said on Wednesday that the passenger jet had been given permission to land, but the smaller plane had not been cleared for takeoff.
According to Coast Guard officials, the Coast Guard pilot stated after the crash that he had been given permission to enter the runway.
Authorities have only recently begun their investigations, and aviation experts say that an airplane accident usually requires the failure of multiple safety guardrails.
According to a copy of the bulletin posted by US regulators, a notice to pilots in effect prior to the accident suggested that a strip of stop lights embedded in the tarmac as an extra safety measure to prevent wrong turns was out of service.
BIG LOSSES
On Thursday, Japan Airlines (JAL) estimated that the disaster would result in an operating loss of approximately 15 billion yen ($105 million).
The aircraft’s loss will be covered by insurance, according to the company, which added that it was assessing the impact on its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31.
According to insurance industry sources, AIG (AIG.N) was the lead insurer on a $130 million “all-risks” policy for the two-year-old plane that was destroyed by fire. AIG refused to comment.
According to Aviation Safety Network, this was the first hull loss for the A350 model in the world. The type, which is primarily made of carbon composite, went into commercial service in 2015.
JAL shares fell as much as 2.4% before recovering to be up 0.6% when trading resumed following the New Year’s holiday.
It took the crew 18 minutes from the time of the collision to get everyone off the plane and safely accounted for.
The crew in the smoke-filled cabin followed emergency procedures in textbook fashion, even as passengers panicked, intercom systems failed, and several evacuation chutes were out of service due to the fire, according to Japan’s second-largest airline.
According to a JAL spokesperson, the majority of the passengers on the flight from Hokkaido were Japanese, with at least 43 foreigners confirmed among them, including Australians, Swedes, Hong Kong, Chinese, and South Korean nationals.
Wreckage from the planes remained scattered around the runway on Thursday as several officials surveyed the debris, some wearing masks, gloves, and hard hats, according to footage broadcast by public broadcaster NHK. On Wednesday, a Coast Guard official announced that they had recovered a voice recorder from the Coast Guard plane.
Since Tuesday’s crash, hundreds of flights into and out of Haneda have been canceled or delayed, leaving many frustrated passengers at the airport.
Michio Kusunoki, a 67-year-old teacher, said he faced two canceled flights from Haneda to his hometown of Fukuoka in Japan’s south.
“I was meant to get on a plane yesterday evening at 7.30 p.m….Then I changed to this morning 8:30 a.m. and that flight was canceled too,” he said.
“I couldn’t get anything after that till 4:30 p.m. so I am going to roam around as I can’t get home.”
Nearly 200 passengers were also stranded overnight at Hokkaido’s New Chitose airport, where the flight originated.