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At Least 35 Injured in Near Jet Collision
Two Japan Airlines jetliners carrying nearly 700 passengers narrowly avoided an in-flight collision Wednesday when at least one of the planes dived quickly to get out of the other's path.
Thirty-five people were injured, three seriously.
A transcript of radio contact between air traffic controllers and the pilots suggests that the aircraft came as close as 60 meters. The flight plan called for the planes to pass at a distance of 600 meters.
"I have never seen a plane fly so close," an unidentified passenger told NHK, Japan's semipublic television network. "I thought we were going to crash."
All the injured were on Flight 907 from Tokyo's Haneda airport to Naha on the southern Japan island of Okinawa. The Boeing 747-400, which left for Naha late Wednesday afternoon carrying 411 passengers and 16 crew members, returned safely to Haneda.
The other plane, a Japan Airlines flight from Pusan, South Korea, carrying 237 passengers and 13 crew members, also descended to avoid collision and landed safely at Narita Airport, its destination, about 100 kilometers east of Haneda.
Passengers aboard the 747 said the plane rocked back and forth violently, then dropped suddenly.
At the time, flight attendants were serving hot tea and soup, said JAL's chief spokesman, Shigero Kayaba. The jolt sent the cart shooting up to the ceiling of the cabin, scalding passengers.
Most of the injuries were bruises and minor burns. But three passengers, including a 54-year-old woman with a broken leg, were in serious condition, Japan Airlines spokesman Takeshi Suzuki said.
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