Japan Airlines (JAL) is said to be considering the preservation of the wreckage of the Airbus A350-900 that was involved in an accident at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) on January 2, 2024.
The aircraft collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft that had positioned itself on the runway on which the larger plane was landing. The cause of the accident which killed four people on board the Coast Guard plane remains under investigation.
As reported by The Straits Times, JAL has begun considering preserving the remains of its aircraft involved in the accident, which has since been removed from the side of runway 16L/34R which has reopened. The runway is one of four at the busy international airport.
On January 5, 2024, three days following the accident, investigators from Japan’s Transport Safety Board (JTSB) began working their way through the wreckage before excavators removed the remains of the A350 and relocated it to a secure JAL hangar located elsewhere on the airfield for further inspection, following a maintenance order issued by the JTSB.
JAL is considering exhibiting the remains for both company employees and also the general public to convey lessons learned from the incident to improve aviation safety overall.
While little remains of the fuselage of the JAL aircraft which caught fire upon landing following the collision, parts of the aircraft’s wings, vertical stabilizer, and engines remain.
JAL considers the wreckage of its A350 jet to be “a valuable object in conveying the lessons of air safety”, and will consult with the Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Ministry of Japan, the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, and other stakeholders regarding the preservation of the remains, while also monitoring the progress of the investigation into the accident.
The company’s employee training facility, known as the JAL Safety Promotion Center, displays various articles and exhibits that are related to aviation safety matters.
One such display preserves the remains of part of the fuselage from the JAL Boeing 747SR that was involved in an accident in August 1985 when the aircraft suffered an explosive decompression and broke apart mid-air, killing all 520 passengers and crew onboard. The aircraft, operating a domestic flight from Haneda Airport to Osaka (ITM), had been damaged during a landing accident seven years earlier. The subsequent repairs were inadequately carried out, causing the aircraft to suffer a catastrophic structural failure on its way to Osaka several years later.
The exhibit also features other parts of the aircraft remains as well as various passenger belongings that were recovered from the crash site scene.
The JAL Safety Promotion Center is open to the public five days per week (Monday to Friday) and offers guided tours of the exhibits. Advanced reservations are required.
