The Coast Guard plane that collided with an Airbus 350 passenger plane at Tokyo airport was not allowed to take off, according to records of the captain’s conversation with the air traffic control tower released by the authorities. In the case of the larger machine, it is known that it has received permission to land.
Japanese authorities on Wednesday released transcripts of conversations between the pilots of the planes that collided with the air traffic control tower at the Tokyo airport on Tuesday. They show that the passenger Airbus 350 had permission to land, but the second plane was not allowed to take off.
– We disclose these objective materials. I believe that this will be part of the evidence that will help in the investigation into the causes of the accident, said Tetsuo Saito, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, during a press conference. He noted that he could not provide more details at this stage of the investigation. Copies of the transcripts were made available to the media.
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New facts about the plane collision
Released call records show that the captain of the Coast Guard plane was instructed to taxi to a stopping point near the runway. One of the officials from the civil aviation office Japan told journalists that the transcript does not indicate in any way that the machine received permission to take off. Still, she found herself on the runway.
According to a coast guard official, the captain himself, who suffered serious injuries in the tragedy, stated that he had obtained such consent and that was why he was on the strip. However, the official confirmed that the conversation transcript did not indicate this.
Conversations between the Airbus 350 pilots and controllers show that they received permission to land. Japan Airlines confirmed this earlier in a statement on Wednesday, saying that the pilot understood and repeated the clearance from the controller and continued the landing in accordance with procedures.
An investigation was initiated
Earlier on Wednesday, Japanese media reportedthat the police are investigating whether human negligence could have been the cause of the plane collision. The police themselves did not confirm these reports, but their spokesman said that officers were checking the runway at the airport, would be conducting interrogations and had started inspecting the burned wreck of the Airbus. The Japan Transportation Safety Board (JTSB) also launched a separate investigation into the matter.
After landing on the runway, a passenger Airbus A350-900 collided with a coast guard aircraft. All 379 passengers and 12 crew members were evacuated, but five people from the second plane did not survive.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/JIJI PRESS // Reuters