Footage has emerged showing a fireball erupting from a Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 after it collided with a Coast Guard aircraft at Haneda airport in Tokyo.
Five of the six crew on the Coast Guard turboprop plane died in the incident on Tuesday.
The JAL airliner spewed smoke from its side as it continued down the runway after the collision.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, said there were 12 Australians on board the Airbus.
"Tragically, there was a plane crash at Haneda Airport in Tokyo soon after that earthquake that involved a plane that was providing support for the earthquake, with a Japan Airlines flight," he said.
"We understand that there were 12 Australians on board that Japan Airlines flight. But all of those people are safe and accounted for."
Passengers shouting and a baby crying inside the smoke-filled commercial jet could also be heard in eyewitness footage.
Within 20 minutes, all passengers and crew escaped from its cabin down emergency chutes.
As firefighters tried to put out the blaze, the area around the passenger plane's wing caught fire. The flames spread throughout the aircraft, consuming it before its eventual collapse. The fire was extinguished after about six hours.
The Airbus had flown from Shin Chitose airport near the city of Sapporo, the transport minister said.
Plane making a 'normal entry'
JAL managing executive officer Tadayuki Tsutsumi told a news conference that the A350 was making a "normal entry and landing" on the runway, without specifying how it collided with the Coast Guard plane.
Noriyuki Aoki, also a managing executive officer at JAL, said the airline maintains that the flight had received permission to land from aviation officials.
Coast Guard spokesperson Yoshinori Yanagishima said its Bombardier Dash-8 plane, which is based at Haneda, had been due to head to Niigata to deliver relief goods to residents affected by a deadly earthquake in the region on Monday.
The turboprop Dash-8 is widely used on short-haul and commuter flights.
The Coast Guard pilot reported to his base that his aircraft exploded after colliding with the commercial plane, Vice-Commander Yoshio Seguchi told reporters.
Shigenori Hiraoka, head of the Transport Ministry Civil Aviation Bureau, said the collision occurred when the JAL plane landed on one of Haneda's four runways, where the Coast Guard aircraft was preparing to take off.
Transport safety officials were analysing communication between aviation control officials and the two aircraft and planned to interview JAL officials to determine what led to the collision.
Story by: AP/REUTERS
Original Story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-03/footage-shows-fireball-from-japan-airlines-plane-collision/103281058
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