Ministry declares ‘serious incident’ after police say parts fell from Japan Airlines plane

The Japanese transport ministry has classified engine trouble that forced a Japan Airlines plane to make an emergency landing in southwest Japan on Thursday as a “serious incident” that could have led to an accident. In Thursday’s incident, engine parts fell from the Tokyo-bound aircraft shortly after it took off from Kumamoto Airport, forcing it to return and make an emergency landing there. On Friday the transport ministry sent four officials to confirm whether the parts found Thursday are from the plane, and also to search for additional parts. It will later dispatch three inspectors to look into the incident. The falling parts cracked a clinic window in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, and also damaged a car on the premises, but no injuries were reported, local police said. A turbine blade behind the left engine sustained widespread damage but it is unlikely it was caused by a bird strike, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. At least 10 components, all measuring about 5 cm in length, were found within a few dozen metres of the clinic.<br/>