Japan plane fire latest: Hundreds survive plane collision inferno; pilot's message to base after crew killed

We're ending our coverage of the runway collision for today, but before we go, here's a recap of today's key moments.

• Japan Airlines' flight 516 - an Airbus A350 plane - collided with a smaller coast guard aircraft on runway C at Haneda airport;
• The passenger plane was engulfed in flames, but all 379 passengers and crew were evacuated, with 14 people reportedly injured;
• Only one of the six crew members on board the coast guard's aircraft, a Bombardier Dash-8, survived; its captain;
• Japan's Fumio Kishida said it was a "very disappointing and saddening situation," while also expressing his "heartfelt gratitude" for the evacuation efforts;
• The announcement system on board the passenger plane did not work during the evacuation, Reuters reported Japan Airlines (JAL) as saying, forcing staff to use megaphones;
• The incident marked the first "total loss" of an A350 since it was introduced, according to aviation industry analyst Sally Gethin.

Two planes were involved in the collision at Haneda International Airport.

Here we look at the aircraft involved - and how the inferno may act as a key test for a modern method of making fuselages.

Passenger plane

There are more than 570 of the Airbus A350 aircraft in operation, according to the company.

It is a twin-engine, twin-aisle plane used by a number of long-haul international carriers.

There are two versions of the Airbus, and JAL, whose plane was involved in the collision today, operates 16 of the A350-900 model, according to its website.

It recently announced details of 13 of the newer A350-1000 variant it plans to bring into service, saying it will become "the airline's new flagship for international service".

The fire may be seen as a test case for airplane fuselages made from carbon-composite fibres, such as the A350, instead of conventional aluminium skins.

"We don't know that much about how composites burn," safety consultant John Cox said.

"This is the most catastrophic composite-airplane fire that I can think of. 

"On the other hand, that fuselage protected [passengers] from a really horrific fire - it did not burn through for some period of time and let everybody get out."

Coast guard aircraft

The Bombardier Dash-8 is widely used on short-haul and commuter flights.

In this instance, it was manned by six crew members and was due to fly to Niigata to deliver relief goods to residents affected by a deadly earthquake in the region.

Flight operator ANA has said 110 domestic flights departing and landing at Haneda were cancelled.

The airport was closed for several hours following the incident, but three runways have since resumed operations, according to a transport ministry official.

Haneda is one of the two main airports serving the Japanese capital Tokyo.

It was a daily domestic flight that ended in the deaths of five people and the dramatic rescue of hundreds more.

Correspondent Emma Birchley explains what happened step by step...

The announcement system on board the passenger plane did not work during the evacuation, Reuters reports Japan Airlines (JAL) as saying.

All 379 passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane, with public broadcaster NHK reporting 14 were injured.

Four passengers were taken to a medical facility, JAL said.

Noriyuki Aoki, a managing executive officer at JAL, said the crew aboard the flight received landing clearance from air traffic control.

In a separate statement on its website, JAL said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased members of the Japan Coast Guard."

It continued: "We would like to assure you that we will provide our full cooperation in the investigation of this unfortunate event."

Evacuation has been a key safety priority since at least the mid-1980s, when a British Airtours Boeing 737 was engulfed in flames at Manchester airport, killing 55 people.

Investigators of the 1985 disaster said the biggest cause of death was smoke inhalation following delays in opening doors and restricted access to emergency exits.

A 2000 US safety study said that on average, an airliner evacuation for whatever cause happens every 11 days. 

Such events typically only make headlines when fire is involved, but have led to improvements in door mechanisms and emergency lighting.

However, new challenges are arising from the amount of luggage passengers are allowed to take on board.

Air crash investigators have recommended stronger in-flight briefings to urge passengers to leave behind those belongings when ordered to evacuate - but often with little effect.

In 2016, amateur video showed passengers blocking aisles and grabbing bags from overhead bins as the cabin of an Emirates jet filled with smoke in Dubai.

Cabin crew were praised after managing to evacuate all 300 people, despite the panic.

In 2018, Britain's Royal Aeronautical Society recommended the automatic locking of overhead bins following a crash landing, noting that passengers often ignore safety briefings.

"It's clearly a benefit if you're not carrying your baggage," Steve Creamer, an aviation safety consultant and former senior director at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), said.

Commenting on the incident today, he said: "It's pretty remarkable that they got everybody off the airplane. That says a lot about the flight crew and the discipline of the people on board."

The only survivor from the coast guard's plane radioed his base after pulling himself from the wreckage.

He has been named as Genki Miyamoto, 39, the captain of the Bombardier Dash-8.

"The aircraft exploded on the runway. I escaped. The [condition of the] other crew members is unknown," he said, according to the coast guard.

The other five members of his crew, all of whom died, were aged between 27 and 56, it said.

All 379 passengers and crew on the Japan Airlines passenger plane were evacuated.

If you're just joining us, here's what we know so far.

Planes collide: Japan Airlines' flight 516 - an Airbus A350 plane - collided with a smaller coast guard aircraft on runway C at Haneda airport.

'Miracle' evacuation: The passenger plane was engulfed in flames, but all 379 passengers and crew were evacuated, with 14 people reportedly injured. This was despite some of the plane doors failing to open, a passenger told broadcaster NHK.

Five dead: But only one of the six crew members on board the coast guard's aircraft, a Bombardier Dash-8, survived; its captain.

Airbus destroyed: The incident marked the first "total loss" of an A350 since it was introduced, according to aviation industry analyst Sally Gethin.

Possible causes: The cause of the collision is unknown, but experts have suggested the following may play a factor in this type of incident:

• Lower night time visibility;
• The small size of the Bombardier;
• The interior lights of the Bombardier can be masked by its wings, which sit atop the fuselage;
• The Bombardier's transponder - used to communicate data to the control tower - was reportedly an older model;
  
• A communications failure;
• Mistakes in identifying signs on the runway.

Whatever the cause, the former head of air safety at British Airways, John Lindsay, said a "chain of failures" more likely led to the incident than a single mistake.

Prime minister's condolences: Japan's Fumio Kishida said it was a "very disappointing and saddening situation," while also expressing his "heartfelt gratitude" for the evacuation efforts.

While all passengers and crew on board the passenger plane were evacuated, 14 were injured, reported Japan's public broadcaster NHK, citing the fire service.

The broadcaster reported further details from the incident, including that more than 100 fire trucks were assigned to extinguish the blaze.

Among the 379 passengers aboard the Airbus were eight children, NHK reported Japan Airlines as saying.

They all escaped despite the fact the doors in the centre and back of the aircraft would not open, a passenger told the broadcaster.

A former commercial pilot has described the collision as a miracle and a disaster.

Roger Whitefield said the incident was likely contributed to by the dark, the small size of the coast guard's plane, and the fact the wings on that type of aircraft can mask its interior lights.

He highlighted the fact the evacuation that followed was successful despite Japanese planes sitting people more densely than in Europe.

"In my career I have never read about or seen films of such a good evacuation," said Mr Whitefield.

"We saw a miracle, let's not forget that, but we also saw a disaster in that the coast guard crew, all but one of them, are no longer with us.

"I think that is made almost sadder by the fact they were employed in a relief mission for the earthquake victims."

Following the collision, the crew locked in the flight deck of the passenger plane would have been concentrating on keeping the plane on the runway and stopping it as soon as possible, he explained.

"The crew did a very good job," he said.