The transportation ministry of Japan announced on Tuesday that it has implemented enhanced emergency protocols for the nation’s airports. This comes after a deadly accident between a Japan Airlines airplane and a coast guard plane at Haneda airport in Tokyo last week, which was attributed to human error.

The actions, such as increasing the visibility of stop lines on taxiways that lead to runways and using clearer language in air traffic control communication, will be immediately put into place at Haneda airport. These measures are also scheduled to be implemented in other airports throughout the country within the next few weeks.

On January 2, a crash happened between JAL Flight 516, which had 379 passengers and crew on board, and a coast guard aircraft on the same seaside runway. This resulted in both aircraft catching fire.

The passengers on the JAL Airbus A350-900 were able to evacuate safely within 18 minutes. However, the captain of the coast guard’s Bombardier Dash-8, which is significantly smaller, suffered burns and unfortunately, all five crew members did not survive.

The investigation into the crash has centered on determining why the coast guard flight crew believed they were cleared for takeoff. A portion of the air traffic control recording revealed that there was no clear authorization for the coast guard plane to depart.

The Tokyo air control instructed the JAL plane to land on the 34R runway, taking into account the presence of a departing plane. The JAL pilot confirmed the instruction. In the transcript, the traffic control informed the coast guard plane that they had been given the highest priority for takeoff, using the term “No. 1”. Some experts suggest that this may have caused confusion for the Bombardier crew, leading them to believe they had permission to proceed to the runway.

A report in the Asahi newspaper on Tuesday stated that the coast guard plane may have initiated communication with traffic control after the JAL plane received permission to land, and may not have been aware of the airliner’s arrival.

The new emergency protocols from the ministry state that pilots must be knowledgeable about the terminology used for runway entry. They are advised to repeat instructions from traffic control and to ask for clarification if needed. Additionally, traffic control is instructed not to use numerical terms when assigning takeoff and landing priorities to prevent any misunderstandings.

Beginning next Saturday, the Haneda traffic control tower will have a new position dedicated to monitoring a radar system that detects unauthorized runway entry.

The Haneda airport is the world’s third busiest, and preferred of the two in the Tokyo region because of better accessibility to the city’s downtown. During its peak time, flights come and leave every few minutes, a frequency comparable to Tokyo’s commuter trains.

Source: wral.com