For their professionalism and prudence, everyone involved in the miracle of Haneda is celebrated as heroes in Japan even days later: the pilot who brought the skidding plane to a stop on its nose after colliding with a coast guard plane.
The flight attendants who had to make do without a damaged on-board radio and who calmly gave evacuation instructions with megaphones are also celebrated; and the passengers who remained seated before heading down the emergency slides and abandoning their carry-on luggage to the flaming inferno.
All passengers safe in 18 minutes
Within just 18 minutes, all 367 passengers and 12 crew members were safe. The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported on Friday about the dramatic moments on board. While the frightened passengers saw the flames licking the windows, children starting to scream and the cabin filling with smoke, the nine-person flight attendant quickly checked the escape options: only three of the eight exits were usable. They urged passengers to remain calm and crouch to avoid inhaling the smoke, Kyodo reported.
The two exits at the front of the aircraft proved usable. Crew members immediately began guiding passengers forward to evacuate them via emergency slides. However, only one exit in the rear of the aircraft was usable. A crew member saw flames outside, preventing safe exit from the plane on the right side, but noted that the left side was clear and there was enough space on the ground for a slide, they said.
The captain goes last
Since the system for communicating with the captain was not working and more and more smoke was entering the cabin, the crew member had to act without the actually required permission of the cockpit, opening the left rear exit and lowering the slide. Those passengers who reached the bottom first helped other passengers at the bottom of the slides. The captain checked every row to make sure the last passengers had exited the plane. At 6:05 p.m. he also disembarked at the rear exit – just minutes before the plane completely burst into flames.
While all 379 people survived without life-threatening injuries, any help came too late for five people on board the Coast Guard plane. Only the pilot came out injured.
