TOKYO (News On Japan) - After the recent collision between a Japan Airlines plane and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Haneda Airport, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has announced urgent safety measures nationwide.
The incident is believed to have occurred because the Japan Coast Guard aircraft misunderstood the air traffic controller's use of "number one" as indicating takeoff clearance instead of the departure order. As an immediate response, MLIT has temporarily stopped announcing departure orders in advance, opting to give direct takeoff clearances instead.
It is believed that the Coast Guard aircraft mistakenly entered the runway, with neither the air traffic controller nor the Japan Airlines plane aware of the incursion. In response, MLIT has compiled urgent safety measures, including refraining from communicating the departure order in advance, instead issuing takeoff clearances directly.
Airlines have also been instructed to ensure thorough monitoring from the cockpit during takeoff and landing, to reiterate to pilots the control instructions related to runway entry, and to change the color of the stop lines before the runways at airports such as Haneda, Narita, Osaka, and Kansai to more conspicuous hues.
MLIT has already established a new role at Haneda's control operations to constantly monitor screens that confirm the positions of aircraft.
The Japan Coast Guard has been instructed to hold safety meetings and inspect operational manuals as part of emergency safety measures. The Coast Guard has directed all aviation bases nationwide to conduct meetings to ensure clear communication among crew members regarding procedures and role-sharing before and after flights, and to actively share observations during operations, emphasizing the practice of Crew Resource Management (CRM).
