Japan Airlines pilots were ignorant of the aircraft’s fire before it started, after 379 passengers and staff members evacuated, according to local media.
The flight crashed with a coast guard plane at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport Tuesday night. All six people on the smaller plane died, except one.
The passengers’ footage showed the fire starting below the plane and bursting into a ball of flames before ending.
NHK said that Japan Airlines pilots were unaware of the incident until cabin personnel informed them.
NHK said that the chief flight attendant informed the captain about the fire because cabin workers needed permission to open the emergency exits.
People asking for doors, sobbing babies, and a hotter, smoke-filled cabin were now on video.
The video shows a person pleading, “Please let us out.” Please. Could you please check? Break it open. Wow, what a disaster.
Despite having eight emergency exits, the fire caused all passengers to leave through two slides in the front of the plane.
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One more rear exit survived the fire, according to JAL. The crew could not issue the command due to a broken intercom system.
Though they assumed passengers had to get off, the back personnel opened the rear door as ordered. They told passengers using megaphones and voices.
The captain left at 6:05 p.m. after the jet emptied in 18 minutes.
The entire airline caught fire, and many fire engines failed to extinguish it. Eight hours were spent on that.
The airline reported that a dog and cat left on the plane died.
Japan, France, Britain, and Canada began their investigations into the catastrophe on Thursday, finding the burned remains of the two jets on one of Haneda’s four runways.
The Coast Guard aircraft’s voice and flight recorders were found, but the passenger jet’s were not.
The transport ministry released flight controller transcripts on Wednesday, showing they authorised the JAL flight to land.
According to reports, the Coast Guard plane was instructed to land near the runway.
According to NHK on Wednesday, 39-year-old pilot Genki Miyamoto claimed immediately after the crash that he was cleared to take off.
Japan Airlines estimates operational losses of $105 million, or 15 billion yen.
However, the corporation stated that insurance will cover the aircraft’s loss and was assessing its expected earnings for the fiscal year ending March 31.
JAL shares increased 0.5% on Thursday after the New Year’s holiday, showing a subdued response to the dip. They fell 2.4% first.
This was reported by Reuters and AFP.
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