On May 13, a sightseeing helicopter in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, suffered an engine failure during the flight and made an emergency landing in a nearby mountainous area, seriously injuring three people on board.
There were three people on board, including a pilot in his 50s and two foreign tourists in their 30s.
The two foreign tourists are both from Hong Kong, China.
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According to reports, the helicopter is a sightseeing helicopter of the "Asu Kadeli Animal Park" in Aso City.
Aso Kadeli Animal Park, located in Aso City, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is a bear-based zoo that allows guests to interact with bears directly and bring their own pets.
Another special attraction at the zoo is a helicopter ride that takes you on a high-altitude tour of the land of Aso.
Mt. Aso is one of Japan's most active volcanoes and the only active volcano in Japan, and the Aso Volcanic Area has been designated as a Global Geopark.
The project is also particularly popular because visitors can enjoy the unique natural scenery of the Aso area from above, as well as get a close-up view of the crater's smoke and magma from above.
Except for closed days and inclement weather, there are flights every day.
Prices vary depending on the route.
Route B (6,000 yen for adults, 5,000 yen for children), a 4-minute flight to Yonezuka, a landmark spot on Mt. Aso.
Course C (10,000 yen for adults, 9,000 yen for children) is a 7-minute flight where you can see the magma and smoke in the crater.
Course D (14,000 yen for adults, 13,000 yen for children) is a 10-minute flight that offers a view of Mt. Aso, Nakadake Crater, Yonezuka, and Kusachisa.
The E route (50,000 yen, full capacity of 3 people) is a 20-minute charter flight that allows you to see Aso in its entirety.
In this case, the accident was a flight around the crater of Mt. Aso, and the flight time was about 7 minutes.
At noon on the 13th, during the sightseeing helicopter sightseeing trip to the volcano, an abnormal sound occurred in the rear of the fuselage, and the engine stopped running at high altitude, and then made an emergency landing in a mountain clearing.
According to Japanese media reports, after the helicopter made a forced landing, the tail of the plane broke off and fell not far from the fuselage.
During the forced landing, all three people on the plane were seriously injured.
The 33-year-old female passenger suffered a broken rib, the 32-year-old male passenger suffered a fractured lumbar vertebrae, and the pilot also suffered serious injuries from a broken thoracic vertebrae.
After being rescued, all three were conscious and able to converse, and were rushed to the hospital.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
According to the staff, the sightseeing helicopter did not have anything abnormal before taking off.
On May 14, Japan's National Traffic Safety Commission ruled that the injuries were "aviation accidents" and intervened in the investigation.
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On May 10, two airliners also nearly collided at Fukuoka Airport in Japan.
At noon on the same day, a JAL Japan Airlines passenger plane scheduled to fly to Haneda, Tokyo, did not comply with the instructions of the air traffic controller and crossed the taxiway safety sign line significantly.
At that time, the controller instructed the JAL passenger aircraft to stop in front of the taxiway stop line and wait in line to enter the runway, but the passenger plane continued to taxi without heeding the instructions and crossed the stop line without authorization.
It stopped in front of the runway only after the ATC gave the stop command again.
However, on the runway, a J-AIR passenger plane preparing to fly to Matsuyama Airport in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, was preparing to take off at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour.
The J-Air then braked suddenly.
Fortunately, none of the 47 people on board, including passengers and crew, were injured.
However, due to the emergency braking, the aircraft had to be re-inspected and the flight was cancelled.
It was reported that the J-AIR was about a few hundred meters apart when it stopped, and that part of the JAL airliner's wing had entered the runway at that time.
It's really thrilling!
At present, the Japanese Ministry of Transport is also investigating the matter.
Let's just say, in 2024, Japanese planes are really toxic ...
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