JAL A350 collision probe strives to explain Dash 8's failure to stop at runway holding point

Japanese investigators have disclosed that a De Havilland Dash 8-300’s departure from Tokyo Haneda was supposed to be threaded between two arriving aircraft, before it entered the runway and was fatally struck by the first of them, a Japan Airlines Airbus A350-900. The collision left only one survivor, the captain, from the six occupants of the Dash 8, but all 379 on board the A350 escaped with just five sustaining injuries. Japanese investigation authority JTSB has yet to reach final conclusions on the 2 January 2024 accident, stating in an update that completing the inquiry before the anniversary of the collision will be “difficult”. But it states that the Coast Guard Dash 8’s flight – to take earthquake-relief supplies to Niigata and Komatsu – was delayed for various reasons, including a technical issue with the auxiliary power unit generator. Its crew had discussed whether they would be able to source suitable ground power-supply equipment at the destination. As the Dash 8 travelled along taxiway C, which runs parallel to runway 34R, it was in a queue with several other aircraft heading for the C1 intersection at the end of the runway. The inquiry says that, in order to facilitate operations on 34R, given the Dash 8’s slow speed, controllers in the east tower planned to slot the Dash 8’s departure between the arrival of the A350 and that of another aircraft behind it. Tower control instructed the Dash 8 to exit the queue by taking the turn-off to the C5 intersection, clearing it to the holding point and stating it was “number one” for take-off. But the Dash 8 crew did not stop at the holding point, instead continuing onto the active runway before the A350 had landed. The inquiry has yet to explain the pilots’ failure to stop. It says, however, that a number of factors could have led the crew to perceive that they had clearance to enter the runway.<br/>