Verbal Miscommunication May Be Behind Haneda Crash, Yomiuri Says

The wreckage of a Japan Airlines passenger jet that collided Jan. 2 with a Japan Coast Guard plane at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Jan. 5.Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg

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By Nicholas Takahashi

January 9, 2024 at 1:48 AM UTC

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Miscommunication between air traffic control and a coast guard plane may have led to the fatal crash on Jan. 2 at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, citing unidentified sources.

The control tower told the coast guard plane that it was “number one,” which may been taken as a sign that it could enter the runway, rather than the order of departure, according to the newspaper.