[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] A major plane disaster nearly occurred in the air near a Japanese airport.
According to Japanese media outlets, including The Asahi Shimbun, a close call occurred around 5:44 a.m. on the 4th in the air near Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport), when an All Nippon Airways (ANA) passenger jet flying from Shanghai, China to Haneda Airport came dangerously close to a flight inspection aircraft. Some reports claimed the two planes were only 20 meters apart.
The flight inspection aircraft is a small special plane operated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). It is used to check from the air whether radio facilities, runway lights and other aviation support systems essential for safe aircraft operations are working properly.
At the time, as the passenger jet was descending for landing, the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) sounded a warning about the risk of a midair collision.
The passenger jet immediately aborted its landing and climbed, avoiding a collision with the flight inspection aircraft, which was taking off.
According to authorities, there were 197 people on board the passenger jet, including crew members and passengers, and no injuries were reported in the incident.
The aircraft later made a wide turn in the air and landed safely around 6:10 a.m.
An investigation by MLIT found that the flight inspection aircraft took off from Runway D and then turned, crossing the approach path used by the ANA passenger jet as it was coming in to land.
In particular, while the ANA jet's TCAS was activated, the warning system on the flight inspection aircraft did not operate. Japanese authorities are now investigating the exact circumstances.
The incident fortunately did not lead to a disaster, but it has raised growing concerns about aviation safety management systems.
Aviation experts stressed, "TCAS is the last line of defense that helps pilots recognize danger and avoid a collision," adding, "As in this case, it is important to share aircraft position information more accurately before warning systems are triggered and to strictly manage air traffic control procedures."
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
