Haneda airport crew remove charred wreckage of Japan Airlines plane from runway

Investigators also trying to retrieve plane’s cockpit voice recorder to find clues leading to deadly collision with Coast Guard aircraft

Crew members at Tokyo’s Haneda airport have started removing the charred remains of the destroyed Japan Airlines plane from the major airport’s runway, two days after the passenger plane collided with another smaller plane.

Investigators are also trying to retrieve the plane’s cockpit voice recorder to find clues leading to the deadly collision with a Coast Guard aircraft.

The Japan Airlines widebody plane, with call sign of JAL516, accidentally collided into a Coast Guard turboprop on the runway while landing on Tuesday evening. In what is being termed a miraculous escape, all 379 people – including crew members – were evacuated from the burning jet within minutes.

However, five of the six crew members onboard the Coast Guard jet died.

Crew present at the same runway 34R on Friday used cutting equipment to rip off the Airbus A350’s both wings which are the only remaining structure of the top-tier commercial jet. Excavators also lifted debris from inside the burnt-out cabin into a large lorry with the remains expected to be required in further investigation.

The charred black wreckage, reduced to one-fourth of the plane’s actual structure, was stationed at the airport’s collision site since Tuesday as officials gathered the investigation team. A dozen personnel in white overalls and hard hats present on the runway were seen watching the excavation and rubble clearance drill.

Complete removal of the plane wreckage is expected to be complete by 7 January, after which it will be taken to its hangar for further inspection.

The cockpit voice recorder from the JAL plane is yet to be recovered but the flight data recorder and both recorders from the Coast Guard rubble have been located, the Japan Transport Safety Board said.

The sole survivor of the Coast Guard aircraft, the captain, is under scrutiny after authorities released control tower transcripts appearing to show he was ordered to enter a holding area near the runway before the crash occurred.

The captain said he was granted permission to enter the runway, according to the Coast Guard, as they acknowledged there was no indication of that in the transcripts.

He suffered severe burns as a result of the crash.

The runway 34R is expected to reopen on 8 January if clearance operations go as per the plan, according to the transport minister.