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Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

On the afternoon of January 2, 2024, Japan Airlines flight JAL516 crashed while landing at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, and then the plane lost control and the wings and engines caught fire at the same time, and all 379 people, including the crew members, were safely evacuated within 18 minutes of the accident.

What happened on JAL 516 was called a "textbook rescue operation" and a "Haneda miracle". Behind the "miracle", what really happened, and whether it was really just a "miracle" - everything is worth exploring and remembering forever.

Text: Ling Yi

Edited by Jin Shi

Crash plane

On January 2, 2024, at around 4:15 p.m., Japan Airlines flight JAL516 took off from New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and flew to Tokyo's Haneda Airport. The aircraft has a maximum capacity of 390 passengers. On that day, it was the New Year's holiday, and the airliner was full of 367 passengers, including 8 infants, in addition to 12 crew members.

Akiko Yoshizawa, who is studying at the University of Tokyo, sat in the aisle seat in row 51 in economy class, near the back of the plane's right-wing engine. A few days ago, during the New Year's holiday, he returned to his parents' house in Sapporo for the New Year's holiday. At the end of the vacation, he chose to take flight JAL 516 back to Tokyo, and this year he is about to graduate and continue to catch up on his thesis.

The flight was scheduled to depart at 3:50 p.m., but due to various reasons, it was delayed for nearly 30 minutes before finally taking off. During the 1 hour and 30 minutes of the flight, Yoshizawa was quietly reading, and there was no abnormal situation on the whole plane.

Yutaka Kamoda, who also worked for the Japanese news agency STV, was one of the passengers of the plane, and he recorded the entire flight of the day in a memo, and he confirmed Yoshizawa's account. Yutaka Kamoda's seat is located in the front row of the plane, on the aisle side. He recorded: "The in-flight radio told me that it was the latest aircraft, and I looked around at the interior and design and felt that the whole journey was no different from a normal flight, and we were ready to land as usual. 」

At 5:47 p.m., JAL516 was about to land at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, and as instructed by the tower, it would land on Runway C. At this time, it was already dark in Tokyo, and the only things that could be seen on the tarmac of Haneda Airport were the outline lights on the exterior walls of the buildings and the guidance lights on the runways. That's when the accident happened.

The moment the plane landed, Akiko Yoshizawa didn't know what was happening outside the cabin, he only saw an orange-red fireball burning outside the porthole, and the entire fuselage began to tilt to the right, and he heard the plane gurgling and vibrating. He subconsciously grabbed the armrest of the seat, "When I landed, I felt a force that lifted my butt up from the seat. 」

The real situation outside the cabin was that JAL 516 collided with a Japan Coast Guard transport plane as it was about to take off as it landed.

At that time, the JAL 516 was still taxiing at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour. After the two planes collided, the airliner quickly deflected off track and began to skid uncontrollably on the runway. After sliding forward for almost 1,500 meters, it stopped. The strong impact caused the wings and engines loaded with gasoline to start a fire, and at the same time, the transport plane was directly knocked into the air, igniting a fire.

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

Flames and smoke continue to come out of the windows of the fuselage Image source network

The fire outside the window was burning brighter and louder, and the cabin was filled with thick smoke. Trapped in the cramped cabin, the passengers were in a commotion. The children cried out, "God-sama, save us," and some passengers began to complain, "Why didn't you leave earlier?" and "If the flight hadn't been delayed, there wouldn't have been an accident." 」

At this time, Yoshizawa's legs began to tremble, "For the first time in my life, I seriously thought, 'I might die'. Thinking of this, Yoshizawa was so frightened that he burst into tears in his seat.

Sitting next to Yoshizawa are 28-year-old Tsubasa Sawada and his girlfriend. The two of them had just returned from a vacation in Sapporo and were ready to go to work the next day. Seeing Yoshizawa in a panic, Tsubasa Sawada shouted to him, "We'll be fine!" and shook Yoshizawa's hand and gave him a mask.

Five minutes later, the flight attendants opened three life-saving doors, located on the left side of the tail, and at the left and right ends of the nose, and opened the life-saving slides to guide passengers to evacuate from the slides.

Eventually, 18 minutes after the accident, all 367 passengers and 12 crew members on JAL Flight 516, a total of 379 people, left the cabin safely on fire, 17 passengers reported abrasions, and no one died.

After the collision accident, the Japan Transportation Safety Commission, based on the monitoring of the airport and the preliminary analysis of the black boxes of the two planes, found that the main reason for the accident was that the transport plane intruded on the runway without permission.

The transport aircraft is a small propeller-type transport aircraft from the Japan Coast Guard. On January 1, 2024, the Noto earthquake struck Japan, and the transport plane began a mission to deliver relief supplies to the air base in Niigata, having flown two rescue missions in Tokyo and Niigata 24 hours before the accident.

According to Haneda Airport's tower recordings, the tower traffic commander referred to the transport plane as "No. 1", which also implied that it was given the highest take-off priority, and at that time, the traffic commander instructed it to continue and enter the standby position near the runway, but did not give instructions to allow takeoff.

The captain of the transport plane, Genki Miyamoto, emphasized in an investigation that he heard the command from the tower to allow takeoff, and then continued to move forward into the runway - there was a misunderstanding between the two sides, which eventually led to the collision of the two planes.

Video analysis of the accident shows that when the JAL JAL516 passenger plane was landing, the Security Agency transport plane suddenly appeared on runway C and crashed the landing gear of the passenger plane. Due to the absence of the nose landing gear, the nose of the airliner rubbed directly against the ground, causing a fire.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Global Aviation Safety Status 2011, between 2005 and 2010, among the three types of high-risk accidents identified by ICAO, runway safety-related incidents (including bird strikes, ground collisions, runway deviations, runway incursions, ground loss of control, runway landings/runway cross-tracking, etc.) ranked first, accounting for 59% of the total accidents.

In an interview with JAL and the Japan Transportation Safety Board, the captain of JAL516 said that at the time of the incident, he only felt the plane sliding forward. "We operated the brakes and the steering wheel, but it didn't work, and the plane was completely out of control. 」

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

The wreckage of a JAL airliner after it burned down on the runway of an airport. Source: Visual China

escape

On a passenger plane that had caught fire and lost control, how to evacuate all 379 people safely within 18 minutes, without any fatalities - in the unfortunate collision accident, this is also one of the main concerns of countless people.

Through many videos taken by passengers on board, people can see that in the dim and unknown emergency, the cabin is noisy at first, with people's doubts, children's cries, screams, and the roar of burning mixed together. But in such an environment, several flight attendants remained calm at all times – the most basic prerequisite for everyone to be rescued.

At that time, because the communication lines on the plane were also cut off, the flight attendants could not directly communicate with the captain sitting in the cockpit and could not hear the captain's instructions. In the event of an emergency, flight attendants face tremendous responsibility and pressure – on the one hand, all staff on board the aircraft are required to follow the captain's instructions, and on the other hand, if the captain is not contacted and the emergency passage is opened, there is a high risk that a fire will be introduced into the cabin at the moment the door is opened.

After checking the emergency aisle, the flight attendants chose to organize the evacuation of passengers as soon as possible without a response from the captain.

Izumi Egami, a former Japan Airlines flight attendant, said: "If there is a failure in the aircraft system and we are unable to contact the captain, we generally assume this situation during training and ensure that each flight attendant can make independent judgments and make decisions, and cannot wait forever because they cannot communicate. 」

At this time, more than 5 minutes have passed since the accident, the plane has completely stopped, the fuselage has not yet burned completely, but the right engine is still in a state of spitting. After inspection, the flight attendants found that only three of the original eight emergency exits were available, located on both sides of the nose and the left rear, which had not yet caught fire, and there was enough space on the ground to put down the slide. So, they decisively opened the three emergency doors, lowered the emergency slide, and began to guide passengers off the plane.

Due to the damage to the plane's PA system, flight attendants could only use loudspeakers and their own voices to shout commands, repeatedly emphasizing to passengers: "Please cover your mouth and nose, please bend down and keep your posture low. 」

This choice of flight attendants and their subsequent operations have also been recognized by many aviation experts.

Chen Jianguo, a veteran captain who has worked for Japan Airlines for four years, analyzed in an article: "If the crew chooses the wrong emergency exit, then passengers may suffer secondary injuries when evacuating. This shows that the judgment of the JAL crew is very accurate and does not panic in the face of danger. Aviation critic Yoshinayo Aoki also said, "Each crew member assessed the flames, selected the appropriate emergency exit, and guided the passengers correctly and appropriately. 」

According to public information, there are 3 pilots and 9 flight attendants on the JAL 516 passenger plane, among them, the captain is 50 years old, has rich flight experience, and has more than 12,000 flight hours, while the 9 flight attendants are all women.

Four of the nine flight attendants are new employees who joined Japan Airlines in the spring of 2023. Afterwards, the chief flight attendant of the cabin crew said in an interview: "I knew they must have been panicked and scared, but it turned out that they did a very good job. 」

In addition to the timely and correct operation of the flight attendants, the special material of the A350 itself also won passengers as much escape time as possible - according to the preliminary investigation of Japan Airlines, after the incident, the front of the nose was damaged, but the cockpit at the front of the aircraft was basically intact, which is also the special feature of the A350, unlike the old aircraft made of aluminum, the A350 is mainly made of carbon fiber composite materials, which is not only light and strong, but also slows down the burning rate when the aircraft catches fire.

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

Japan Airlines Airbus A350 Source: Visual China

Of course, the most important factor in creating this "escape miracle" is every ordinary passenger who consciously abides by the principle of escape.

Although there was a lot of noise in the cabin after landing, when the emergency door was opened, "at that moment, no one rushed to the door. According to the records of passenger Yutaka Kamoda, at that time, the passengers closest to the exit began to evacuate, while the remaining passengers on the plane spontaneously and orderly got up in order of their seats.

Yoshizawa, who sat in row 51, recalled that during the whole process, the crew waved their arms sharply to guide the passengers to the front even when they were crouching, and continued to shine flashlights on the passengers' feet, "They calmly instructed us to escape and stabilized our panicked hearts." 」

Yoshizawa found that the passengers around him not only did not panic and snatch the escape route, but also helped each other, and the passengers who first slid down the slide to escape did not leave, but helped the passengers who slid down the slide to land safely.

Throughout the evacuation process, the flight attendants kept repeating a few words: "Please take off your high heels", "Please do not carry luggage", "Please leave your carry-on luggage", "The passengers around you can follow the instructions of the flight attendants, and it makes people feel less dangerous." Yoshizawa said.

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

DURING THE EVACUATION PROCESS, THE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS KEPT REMINDING THEM NOT TO CARRY LUGGAGE SOURCE: SCREENSHOT OF ANN NEWS VIDEO

After the collision, some Haneda Airport staff and passengers on the flight recorded the evacuation of the passengers of JAL516 on video. A review of the videos reveals that only one of the 379 people who were safely evacuated was carrying his own backpack when he left the plane. All the rest of the passengers and staff did not carry any luggage.

Yoshizawa took only the wallet and mobile phone in his trouser pocket, as well as an English book at hand, "I left the computer I used to write my thesis during the winter break, and the bag containing the expensive cosmetics I bought. Later, Yoshizawa mentioned in an interview that there was a moment when he thought about bringing his computer because he still had a graduation thesis written for the entire winter vacation. But in the end, he gave up, "As long as I live, I can continue to write my thesis." 」

Naoki Nakanishi, 44, and his brother's family of eight were on the plane after a vacation to Sapporo. During the evacuation, she and her husband were still wearing short sleeves, but they didn't take anything, and took their 3-year-old eldest son and 9-month-old second son to evacuate as soon as possible. Fortunately, at that time, her mobile phone and wallet were still in her pocket, while her brother's family did not even have a mobile phone.

The children's favorite frog doll is gone, the maternal and child health manual that they have always carried with them in case of sudden illness is also missing, and there is a small bag under their seat with house keys and a work computer with all kinds of data and documents...... In the panic, Naoki Nakanishi decided to throw them away, and she felt a little pity, "But I still think it's good to be alive." Naoki Nakanishi said.

In the aftermath, some aviation experts believe that the ability to persuade passengers to abandon their luggage is partly related to the quality of the passengers themselves, and on the other hand, it is also a reflection of the ability of the crew (crew and cabin crew) to control the cabin.

According to ANN, after the passengers basically fled, the captain who left the cockpit went to the rear of the cabin and checked the seats one by one to see if there were any passengers who had not escaped. Seeing that there were still a few passengers in the seats, he guided them to the safe passage and confirmed that all the personnel had left, and the captain was the last to leave the passenger plane through the safe passage in the rear cabin.

At 18:05 in the evening of the same day, all 379 crew members on JAL Flight 516 landed safely - it took a total of 18 minutes from the collision to the evacuation of all members.

The evacuated passengers were also properly accommodated, and they were first placed in an open grass dozens of meters away from the plane. In order to make it easier to record the number of people, the flight attendant instructed the passengers to form a circle with 10 people holding hands, and then squatted. At around 7 o'clock in the evening, shuttle buses came to the tarmac one after another and arrived at the departure hall of the terminal with passengers. Here, Japan Airlines staff handed out brioche bread, rice balls, cashmere sweaters and warm stickers to passengers, and handed them paper so they could leave their addresses, names, and luggage information. Several medical personnel came to the passengers and asked about their physical condition, accompanied by interpreters.

By 9:30 p.m., almost all the passengers had left the airport, and 14 of the injured were taken to the hospital.

After returning safely to the airport, Yoshizawa posted a lot of crying emojis in LINE's family group, and told his family that he was safe, and a few days after the incident, Yoshizawa still had lingering palpitations, "This is the first time I've been so close to death, and it's good to be alive." 」

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

18 MINUTES LATER, ALL 379 CREW MEMBERS ON FLIGHT JAL 516 WERE EVACUATED SCREENSHOT FROM ANN NEWS

Vital

In the aftermath of the collision, video footage of the orderly evacuation of passengers has sparked positive discussions around the world - it has been proven that in the face of unpredictable aviation accidents, orderly and rational evacuation is the most important way to escape.

In addition to the crisis encountered by JAL516 this time, there are also cases in the past that have proved this point.

At 9:23 a.m. on August 20, 2007, China Airlines flight CI120 took off from Taipei Taoyuan Airport to Naha Airport in Okinawa, Japan. On that day, the passenger plane carried a total of 157 passengers and eight crew members, including two infants and more than a dozen children, as well as a passenger Su Wenfa, who had recently suffered a fractured right leg.

The tour guide, Lin Jiaren, and the 19 people in the tour group also sat on the plane, and it was the peak tourist season, and the tourists couldn't wait to start the journey.

Lin Jiaren's seat number is 6K, the location is just at the junction of economy class and business class, after the plane stopped, Lin Jiaren smelled a burning smell, but he didn't care too much, but he didn't expect that after about 30 seconds, a scream came from the back of the cabin: "It's on fire! It's smoking!" At this time, Lin Jiaren turned his head and found that the No. 2 engine on the right wing of the plane was burning, and thick smoke was emitted.

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

China Airlines flight CI120 caught fire from the source network

At this time, the crew was still performing the final inspection process of shutting down the engine, and the fire alarm bell in the cockpit sounded. At the same time, ground crews outside the plane told the pilots over the intercom that the wings of the plane were on fire. After noticing the situation at the scene, the captain of the plane, Yu Jianguo, immediately ordered the passengers and crew members to evacuate.

Smoke had begun to spread into the cabin, and the portholes in the cabin began to shatter due to the heat. After receiving the captain's instructions, the six flight attendants opened the four emergency hatches in the front and rear, as well as the corresponding inflatable slides, within 20 seconds, and began to instruct the passengers to abandon their luggage, take off their high heels, and organize them to escape in order.

Because the passengers strictly followed the escape rules and obeyed the command of the flight attendant throughout the whole process, the entire escape process took less than two minutes, among them, Su Wenfa, who had a broken right leg, was helped by an American passenger named Jim Caruso and escaped smoothly.

Finally, after the captain You Jianguo repeatedly confirmed that all passengers had been safely evacuated from the escape slide, he jumped out of the cockpit at the front with the co-pilot.

Some passengers recalled that just a few seconds after the captain and co-pilot jumped out of the cockpit window, the first major explosion occurred in the middle of the passenger plane, and then the fire and smoke caused by it became more violent, and the continuous explosion caused the fuselage to break into three parts. The tail section of the fuselage was deformed in the burning of the fire and broke on the ground.

Later, the investigation team found that the cause of the accident was that a bolt had pierced the fuel tank, which in turn caused the oil to leak and catch fire. However, at that time, the quick decision of the captain, the calm command of the crew members, and the help of the passengers finally allowed all 165 people on the plane to escape.

In an interview afterwards, the 48-year-old captain, Yu Jianguo, said: "I would like to thank the passengers on the plane for their calm cooperation, because as long as there is a delay on the part of any person, this will not be the case. 」

In stark contrast to this case, another flight fire occurred in Russia 12 years later.

On May 5, 2019, Aeroflot flight SU1492 flew from Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport to Murmansk Airport, the plane was hit by lightning after takeoff, after that, the plane was forced to return to Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport, during the emergency landing, flames erupted from the bottom of the aircraft, and within seconds, flames raged in the rear of the aircraft model Sukhoi SSJ100, and the entire plane bounced off the runway.

At that time, there were 78 passengers (including the crew) on the plane, of whom 41 were killed in the accident. Almost a year later, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation published the results of its investigation, which concluded that there was no technical malfunction of the wrecked plane, and that the cause of the accident was an operational error by the captain.

Mikhail Savchenko, a survivor of the accident, filmed a video on the tarmac after escaping from the emergency passage and subsequently posted it on social networks. According to this video and other related videos, it was calculated that "at the peak of the first wave of evacuations, 18 of the 28 passengers who came down in 37 seconds were carrying luggage and backpacks, and some of them had bulky trolley suitcases." 」

Therefore, after the Russian Airlines crash, it also triggered a discussion about "whether carrying luggage when escaping is a kind of 'killing'", in this regard, as a survivor, Savchenko's attitude is: "I don't know what to say to those who run out with luggage, only God is their judge." At that time, there were also voices saying that because the fire was so big, even if some passengers did not escape with luggage, it would be difficult for passengers in the back of the cabin to be rescued.

William McGee, a veteran aviation administrator, later commented: "Passengers stopping to pick up their luggage during an evacuation can be a matter of life and death for themselves and others around them. 」

As early as 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board of the United States released a safety report, which counted 46 cases of air evacuation, and interviewed 36 flight attendants, of which 24 flight attendants said that in critical situations, "passengers leaving the plane with carry-on luggage are the most common evacuation obstacles", and there are always passengers who insist on evacuating with guitars, crutches and boxes, and it is common for them to have heated arguments with flight attendants.

"Reports from those on board indicate that the evacuation process is likely to have been slowed down by passengers snatching their luggage. The FAA said in a statement, "We never know if more lives could have been saved if these bags had been left on the plane." 」

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

At the airport, there was a tribute to the crashed flight SU1492. Source: Visual China

It's not a miracle, it's still an accident

After the JAL JAL516 crash, almost all the passengers interviewed had the same statement: "I think it's a miracle that I survived. A Nippon TV news anchor called the escape a "textbook rescue operation," saying, "Remember the Great Noto earthquake, and we must also remember the miracle of Haneda." 」

But in the history of aviation accidents, a famous captain has a different understanding of the word "miracle".

On January 15, 2009, just one minute after takeoff, US Airways Flight 1549 encountered a bird strike 50 meters above Manhattan, causing both engines to stall at the same time. Subsequently, the tower issued an order to "return to the nearby airport", but the plane had completely lost power at this time and could not reach the nearby airport, and at the critical moment, Captain Sullenberg chose to land on the Hudson River at his own discretion, and in the end, all 155 people on board, including the flight attendants, survived.

For a long time after that, the story of Flight 1549 was also called a "miracle", and the famous director Clint Eastwood also brought the story to the big screen, named "Captain Sully", starring Oscar winner Tom Hanks.

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

Photo source movie "Captain Sully"

But in reality, Captain Sullenberg told the media: "Please don't call it a miracle, daily training can improve safety accuracy, and when you call these miracles, everything becomes a fluke." 」

On the other side of the JAL JAL516 collision accident, 379 people "miraculously escaped", and the transport plane suffered heavy casualties, at that time, the plane was carrying six crew members, including the chief and first officer, and in the end, only one captain survived, and the remaining five were all killed.

The youngest of the victims was a radio operator, Tsusunori Ishida, 27 years old who got engaged just last year. The oldest is the mechanic Shigesuke Kato, 56 years old, an experienced maintenance worker who, at a young age, memorized dozens of repair manuals. The team members who knew them well said that several team members used to rent an apartment together, and their common hobby was diving, and they would talk about the sea they had been to in the room after work.

Genki Miyamoto, the only surviving captain, is 39 years old and has been assigned to Haneda Air Base since April 2019 and has been captaining for 4 years and 11 months. In the hospital where he was taken to, he kept repeating "I'm sorry".

In addition, JAL also confirmed that the economic loss caused by the collision accident was as high as 15 billion yen (about 750 million yuan).

For Japan, and even the world's aviation community, the thrilling escape that occurred on the JAL516 should not be praised as a "miracle", but its greatest value is still to be remembered forever as an accident to avoid similar accidents from happening again - this is also the bloody lesson of the JAL123 air crash.

On the afternoon of August 12, 1985, Japan Airlines Flight JAL 123 was flying from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, to Itami Airport in Osaka, carrying 509 passengers and 15 crew members.

Twelve minutes after takeoff, the plane suddenly made a loud noise, the ceiling of the rear toilet collapsed, and the hydraulic system in the plane also failed. At 18:56 on August 12, 1985, the plane crashed on Mt. Takamagahara near the Misutaka Mountains in Gunma Prefecture, killing 520 people, including 11 minors, as well as Haruko Kitahara, a famous actor of the Japanese Takarazuka Theater Company, Ikuo Urakami, executive director of the Japanese company Good Waiter Foods, and well-known singer Ku Sakamoto.  

In the history of world civil aviation, this is also the largest number of casualties among accidents involving a single aircraft.

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

In 1985, Japan Airlines Flight JAL 123 crashed, killing 520 people, making it the largest single plane crash in aviation history. Source: Visual China

After the air crash, many of the victims' families grieved and established an organization called the "812 Liaison Association", and after their years of campaigning, in April 2006, Japan established the Aviation Safety Enlightenment Center, which made public the investigation materials and reports of the JAL123 plane crash, in addition, the center also permanently preserved and displayed a part of the wreckage of the accident and the flattened passenger plane seats. In order to remember the crash, Japan Airlines also organizes the company's top management to climb Mt. Misuke on August 12 every year to pay respects to the victims of the accident.

Izumi Egami joined Japan Airlines in 2000 and was taught by flight attendants who survived the JAL123 crash. She once said to Izumi Egami, "For a long time after the plane crash, I couldn't get rid of my fears and wanted to quit my job as a flight attendant, but I always felt that I should pass on this experience and lessons to future generations and make it my mission." 」

According to Izumi Egami, after the JAL123 crash, JAL will organize pilots and flight attendants to conduct a large-scale escape training every year, and flight attendants who fail to pass the written and practical exams will be suspended.

A JAL employee revealed in an interview that the training for new flight attendants lasts for four months. During the training, they will practice basic etiquette, English learning, emergency response and other courses in depth. During the training, instructors will conduct rescue drills for various emergencies, including bird strikes, navigation fires, runway collisions, etc. Emergency evacuation drills were the most difficult and stressful, "We would practice emergency announcements in English, and there would be counsellors who would correct our pronunciation word by word. 」

During the training process, some newcomers did not move properly, and they were immediately severely criticized by the instructor: "If this was a real accident, the passenger would have died a long time ago." Do you understand the weight of the responsibility to take control of your life?"

Braithwaite, professor of safety and accident investigation at Cranfield University in the UK, praised the efforts of all crew members, "The evacuation was a success, which shows how much JAL has invested in training the crew. He said it was "the blood of 520 people."

After the accident, the wreckage of JAL516 will be stored in a hangar according to a protective order from the National Transportation Safety Board of Japan, and some of the wreckage will be used for public display in the future, in order to convey the lessons of the accident to the public and aviation industry and raise safety awareness.

Can these memorials really serve as a warning and reduce the occurrence of accidents?

In this regard, Mr. Yotaro Hahatamura, a professor at the University of Tokyo, once gave the example of a boy who died in March 2004 when he was caught in the revolving door of Roppongi Hills in Tokyo. After the incident, Yotaro Hatamura felt the loss of a small life, and together with a number of public safety professors, he proposed that the government put the revolving door and the dummy puppet in the accident on public display.

According to Yotaro Hatakemura, the preservation of objects related to the accident is also the preservation of a certain painful memory: "Once the physical object of the accident disappears, people forget the accident itself, and the memory disappears with it. The revolving door and dummy puppet that caused the accident are dynamically preserved, so that the accident can circulate and life can circulate. Yotaro Hatakemura said, "If failure is not treated as a property of society and utilized, then tragedy will happen again. 」

Behind the JAL catastrophe, all 379 people survived

The wreckage of the plane of JAL516 Source: Visual China

Resources:

1. As Flames Surged, Order Prevailed Inside a Japan Airlines Jet, The New York Times

2. Japan jet crash: Passengers describe chaos inside flight 516, BBC

3. Haneda Airport "JAL Ji Yan Shang" Full Truth Active Duty Controller が Emergency Notice! "離陸も着陸も" C slip walk の異常, Weekly Fumiharu

4. JAL 機inflammation上、そのとき何が 検証・Haneda Airport Conflict, Nikkei

5. Aeroflot plane crash: 41 killed on Russian jet, BBC

6. "Living with Mt. Onsutaka" Kuniko Mitani, Shinchosha

7. "Information from Flight 123 ~ The Truth of 33 Years" Fuji TV

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