The world watched with bated breath as Japan Airlines JAL flight 516, carrying all 379 people, burst into flame after collision with an earthquake relief aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday.
While investigations into what happened in the incident, which saw the JAL plane erupt in a fireball, are ongoing, experts say the successful evacuation is down to a combination of modern safety standards and Japan Airlines’ own rigorous safety culture.
The coast guard aircraft was on a mission to fly to a base in Niigata Prefecture carrying supplies to support the area affected by the deadly 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit central Japan on Monday