A350 crash in retrospect

An aircraft collision at Haneda Airport on Tuesday 2 January will have positive implications.  The escape by all the 379 souls on a Japan Airlines A350 Airbus was remarkable, a virtually full aircraft. Lessons will be learnt.

With modern technology the whole world could see the incident as it was happening, including those within the airport, and across Tokyo Bay in the city itself.

Cleary there was a delay between the plane coming to a halt and it bursting into flames.  The Japan Airlines crew training really worked.

These two items were crucial.  The crew training and the way the aircraft was conceived.  The Japanese mindset played its part too.

The yet to be released preliminary report from the Japanese and European investigators is likely to provide clarity on the time scale of key events immediately after the collision. The airline reported that the last crew member left the A350 some 18 minutes after the initial crash which makes a mockery of the 90-second evacuation rule.

The other aircraft involved, a Coast Guard De Havilland Canada Dash 8 on a mercy mission lost five of its occupants. That the pilot in command survived is probably due to his sitting in the left-hand seat, the Airbus arriving on the starboard side.

On the Airbus most passengers disembarked via the forward slides of the aircraft although a mid-hull escape was inflated. Flames were seen inside the cabin aft of the wings, the fire initially seemed contained in this area. Only after a while did it spread over the full length of the aircraft, flames consuming the carbon fibre composite fuselage.

The A350 is fabricated from 53% composite materials. The entire tail section and fuselage are made from carbon fibre composites, while the nose section uses a mix of carbon fibre and aluminium. Most parts of the wings are also made from carbon fibre.

What is almost certain is that this incident was down to human error.  

We have come a long way since the “mysterious” Comet crashes of the 1950s. Aircraft are safe. All the disciplines involved in flying need constant safeguarding.  

www.jal.co.jp

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