On 2 January 2024, a runway collision occurred at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, involving an Airbus A350, operating as Japan Airlines Flight 516, and a De Havilland Canada Dash 8 operated by the Japan Coast Guard (JA722A). Flight 516 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from New Chitose Airport near Sapporo, Japan, to Haneda Airport. The Coast Guard plane was scheduled to deliver relief supplies a day after the 2024 Noto earthquake.
As Japan Airlines Flight 516 was landing, it collided with the Coast Guard aircraft, immediately igniting fires that destroyed both aircraft. Five of the six crew on board the Dash 8 died in the collision, leaving only the captain alive. Everyone on board the A350 survived. Investigations have determined that Japan Airlines Flight 516 was given landing clearance, while the Coast Guard aircraft did not have permission to be on the runway.
The accident marked the first hull-loss accident involving Japan Airlines since Flight 123 in 1985, and also the first hull-loss accident of an Airbus A350 since its introduction in January 2015.
The JAL aircraft involved in the accident was an Airbus A350-941, operating as Flight 516, manufacturer serial number 538, and registered as JA13XJ. The aircraft was just over two years old at the time of the collision, first flying on 20 September 2021 and delivered to JAL on 10 November.
The Japan Coast Guard aircraft involved was a De Havilland Canada DHC-8-315Q MPA, manufacturer serial number 656, nicknamed Mizunagi-1 (Japanese: みずなぎ1号), and registered as JA722A. The aircraft was approximately 16 years old, first flying in November 2007, and acquired by the Coast Guard in March 2009. The aircraft had been damaged in the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami while parked at Sendai Airport, and was the only aircraft damaged there to be repaired afterwards. The Dash 8 was fitted with a Mode S-capable transponder but was reportedly not equipped with ADS-B; this meant the aircraft's position and speed were not reported by the aircraft itself and instead relied on multilateration by on-ground receivers.
The Japan Coast Guard aircraft, carrying six crew members, was transporting emergency supplies to an airbase in Niigata in response to the 2024 Noto earthquake, which had occurred the day before. It was one of four aircraft deployed by the government to provide help to the affected areas.
The aircraft was reported to be stationary on the runway for around 40 seconds before the collision. Genki Miyamoto (宮本 元気, Miyamoto Genki), the captain, reported that the back of the aircraft suddenly caught fire shortly after he had increased the engine power before exploding following the collision. He survived with serious injuries, while the five remaining crew members were confirmed dead by the Tokyo Fire Department. The wreckage of the Coast Guard aircraft was left several hundred meters from the final stopping point of the JAL plane.
Japan Airlines Flight 516 (ICAO flight number JAL516) departed New Chitose Airport at 16:27 JST (07:27 UTC) en route to Haneda Airport. The flight landed 52 minutes after sunset, in darkness, with light and variable winds, visibility greater than 10 km (6.2 mi), few clouds at 2,000 feet (610 m), and a scattered cloud layer at 9,000 feet (2,700 m).
At approximately 17:47 JST (08:47 UTC), JAL516 collided with a Japan Coast Guard Dash 8, identified by its call sign and registration number JA722A, while landing on runway 34R at Haneda Airport. CCTV footage shows a fireball erupting from the aircraft, and the JAL plane leaving a fiery trail as it traveled down the runway for about 1 km (0.62 mi) before coming to a stop on the grass apron beside the runway. Smoke filled the A350's cabin quickly after the accident. Firefighters arrived at the scene in about three minutes, with about 70 fire trucks responding. According to the Tokyo Fire Department, the fire was largely extinguished shortly after midnight, by which time the plane's structure had collapsed due to the intensity of the flames. The collision and subsequent fire were captured by CCTV cameras in Terminal 2. After the collision, the ADS-B signals, except for position information, from the aircraft were received for about one minute. Firefighters later said that the fire spread from the vicinity of the plane's left engine.
According to a statement by a JAL spokesman, the three pilots felt a sudden shock immediately after landing and lost control of the aircraft while trying to maintain its course along the runway. They were unaware that a fire had broken out on board until they were informed by a cabin attendant that the left engine was on fire, and one of the pilots later said that he had seen an object that had caused him concern before the collision. However, the three pilots denied that they had visually confirmed the presence of the Coast Guard aircraft.
With the right engine still running, all 367 passengers and 12 crew members on board JAL516 evacuated through three of the plane's eight evacuation slides, located at doors 1L, 1R and 4L. JAL said the plane's in-flight announcement system had failed, leading the crew to give instructions through megaphones or by shouting. Forty-three foreign nationals and eight children were on board. Two pets, a dog and a cat, were checked in on board and died. Seventeen people on board suffered injuries. It was noted that no one exited with hand luggage, a factor that facilitated a smoother evacuation. JAL's original announcement stated that the evacuation of all crew and passengers was completed at 18:05 JST (09:05 UTC), 18 minutes after the plane collided, but a subsequent investigation by the Japan Transport Safety Board revealed that it was completed at 17:58 (08:58 UTC), 11 minutes after the plane collision. Paul Hayes, the director of air safety at Ascend, a British-based aviation consultancy, told Reuters, "The cabin crew must have done an excellent job. It was a miracle that all the passengers got off considering the wreckage shown in many images".
Another factor cited in the survival of those on board was that the aircraft, one of the first commercial models to be made of composite carbon fiber materials, appeared to have withstood the initial impact of the collision and fire relatively well.
Although all occupants on the Airbus A350 were evacuated with few minor injuries, the plane was destroyed in the post-crash fire and was written off, with Japan Airlines estimating the operational losses from its hull loss at 15 billion yen ($105 million), which is set to be covered by insurance. The aircraft following immediately behind Flight 516—JAL166, a Boeing 737-800 approaching runway 34R—had to perform a go-around at 1,150 feet (350 m) before diverting to Narita International Airport. There were also several flights waiting for takeoff; most returned to the terminal after the runways were closed.
The accident occurred as millions were traveling for the New Year holidays, one of the busiest travel periods of the year. All runways at Haneda Airport were temporarily closed following the accident, and many flights were diverted to nearby Narita Airport, as well as Chubu Centrair International Airport and Kansai International Airport. Others were cancelled as the result of the accident, with All Nippon Airways registering 112 domestic flight cancellations for the rest of the day and JAL cancelling 116 domestic flights. At around 21:30 JST (12:30 UTC), Haneda Airport's remaining three runways were reopened according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). Cancellations continued through 7 January, by which time at least 1,227 flights and 221,910 passengers had been affected. The accident reduced Haneda Airport's flight capacity to 70%. In response to these delays, JR group set up supplemental Shinkansen services on the Tokaido, Hokuriku, and Tohoku Shinkansen routes on 4 January out to Osaka, Kanazawa, and Hokkaido respectively. These extra services were offered without seat reservations.