U.S. aviation safety officials have agreed to help Japan in the examination of airplane recorders following a fatal collision between a Japan Airlines widebody jet and a small Coast Guard plane earlier this week. National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy informed the press that Japan had requested assistance with the Honeywell-manufactured recorders, and the NTSB will provide that help. It is not yet determined whether the recorders will be brought to Washington for analysis or if NTSB personnel will travel to Japan to offer assistance.
All 379 individuals on board the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 successfully evacuated the aircraft after it burst into flames following the crash with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop shortly after landing at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
A spokesman for Honeywell stated that they produced the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) used on the Canadian-made Dash-8, but not the flight data recorder (FDR). Meanwhile, L3Harris confirmed that they manufactured recorders for both the A350 and the Dash-8, but deferred further inquiries about the investigation to the NTSB and Japanese authorities.
According to international rules for aircraft investigations, formally known as “Annex 13,” the investigation is overseen by the country where the crash occurred, although countries where the planes were manufactured can also participate.
Forensic experts from Airbus and French state agency BAE, along with a representative from Canada’s Transportation Safety Board (TSB), are looking into the accident, which claimed the lives of five of the six Coast Guard plane crew members.
Japan, as the lead investigator, also has the option to seek assistance from other countries under international rules.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington, Allison Lampert in Montreal, Valerie Insinna in Washington and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Sandra Maler)
