Plane In Flames At Tokyo Airport After Colliding With Another Jet

A Japan Airlines aircraft caught fire upon landing at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Tuesday evening. Footage from NHK, the broadcaster, displayed the plane taxiing along the runway when it suddenly erupted in orange flames from underneath and behind. The runway itself was also ignited.

Japan airlines plane on fire at Haneda Airport Tokyo. pic.twitter.com/3TZfxHVZkR

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All 379 passengers and crew evacuated

The plane, which had taken off from Sapporo, collided with a coast guard plane, NHK said, citing authorities. All 379 passengers and crew on board were evacuated, media reports quoted the airline as saying.

Reports said that the plane had just arrived from Sapporo airport on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

"We are currently assessing the extent of the damage," the airline said, according to an NHK report. The plane, Japan Airlines Flight 516, departed from New Chitose airport at 16:00 local time (07:00 GMT) and was scheduled to land at Haneda at 17:40.

Over 70 fire engines on the spot

The television footage showed flames coming out of windows and the plane's nose on the ground as rescue workers sprayed it. More than 70 fire engines were being deployed, NHK reported.

A Coast Guard official at Haneda Airport, one of the world's busiest, said they were "checking details". "It's not clear if there was a collision. But it is certain that our plane is involved," he told AFP.

Japan has not suffered a serious commercial aviation accident in decades. Its worst ever was in 1985, when a JAL jumbo jet flying from Tokyo to Osaka crashed in central Gunma region, killing 520 passengers and crew.