All Nippon Airways Flight 58

Last updated
All Nippon Airways Flight 58
JASDF 92-7932
Accident
Date30 July 1971
Summary Mid-air collision
SiteNear Shizukuishi, Iwate, Japan
39°41′N140°59′E / 39.683°N 140.983°E / 39.683; 140.983
Total fatalities162 (all on board Flight 58)
Total injuries1
Total survivors1
First aircraft
All Nippon Airways Boeing 727-200 JA8344.jpg
An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727-200 similar to the aircraft involved in the collision
Type Boeing 727-281
Operator All Nippon Airways
IATA flight No.NH58
ICAO flight No.ANA58
Call signALL NIPPON 58
Registration JA8329
Flight origin Sapporo-Chitose Airport (CTS/RJCC)
Destination Tokyo-Haneda Airport (HND/RJTT)
Occupants162
Passengers155
Crew7
Fatalities162
Survivors0
Second aircraft
JASDF F-86F(62-7527).JPG
A preserved JASDF F-86F on display at JASDF base Nara
Type Mitsubishi F-86F Sabre
Operator JASDF
Call signLILAC CHARLIE 2
Registration92-7932
Occupants1
Passengers0
Crew1
Fatalities0
Injuries1
Survivors1

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Flight 58 was a Japanese domestic flight from Chitose Airport to Haneda Airport, operated by All Nippon Airways (ANA). On 30 July 1971, at 02:04 local time, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-86F Sabre jet fighter collided with the Boeing 727 airliner operating the flight, causing both aircraft to crash. [1] [2] [3] All 162 people aboard the airliner were killed, while the Sabre pilot, a trainee with the JASDF, freed himself from his airplane after the collision and parachuted to safety. This incident led to the resignation of both the head of Japan's Defense Agency and the JASDF chief of staff. [4]

Contents

Aircraft

The ANA airliner was a Boeing 727-281 [note 1] with registration JA8329; it was three months old at the time of the accident. [5] The JASDF aircraft, belonging to the 1st Air Wing at Matsushima Airbase, [4] was a Mitsubishi F-86F Sabre, a Japanese-built version of North American Aviation's famous fighter jet, with tail number 92-7932. At the time of the accident, the F-86F was one of the primary aircraft in the JASDF's inventory.

Passengers and crew

Most of the airline passengers came from Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture and were returning from a trip to Hokkaido. [6] Of the passengers, 125 were in a tour group made up of members of a society for relatives of Japanese servicemen killed in World War II. [7] The captain of Flight 58, Saburo Kawanishi, 41, had more than 8,000 hours of flying experience, including 242 hours on the Boeing 727. [8] He transmitted a brief emergency call between the time of the collision and the aircraft's disintegration. [9] [3] The first officer was 27-year-old Tsuji Kazuhiko, who had more than 2,200 hours of flight experience, 624 of them on the Boeing 727. [8] The flight engineer was 30-year-old Donald M. Carpenter, [3] an American who had logged nearly 2,500 flight hours with 206 of them on the Boeing 727. [8]

Sequence of events

ANA Flight 58 departed Chitose Airport near Sapporo, with 155 passengers and a crew of 7 on board for a domestic flight to Tokyo's Haneda International Airport. After takeoff, the aircraft climbed to its cruising altitude of about 28,000 feet (8,500 m). [5] Meanwhile, 22-year-old JASDF trainee pilot Sgt. Yoshimi Ichikawa and his 31-year-old instructor Captain Tamotsu Kuma were practicing air combat manoeuvring in their two Sabres near Morioka, northern Honshu. The trainee, unaware of the ANA aircraft, was told by his instructor to break away from Flight 58 as it approached and banked left to avoid it, [10] but was already too late and moments later, the leading edge of the Sabre's right wing struck the Boeing's left tailplane at an altitude of 26,000 feet (7,900 m). The damage to the Boeing's tail caused it to go out of control; it entered a steep dive and disintegrated in mid-air, the wreckage impacting near the town of Shizukuishi in Iwate Prefecture.

All 162 passengers and crew were killed. The Sabre, having lost its right wing, entered a spin that prevented the trainee pilot from ejecting, so he unbuckled his safety belts and freed himself from the aircraft. He deployed his parachute and landed safely. The Sabre plunged into a nearby rice paddy. [2] [6]

Aftermath

The JASDF pilots were later tried and the trainee was acquitted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter. However, the instructor was found guilty of criminally negligent manslaughter and sentenced to three years in prison, with a three-year suspension. He also lost his job. [11] [12] Keikichi Masuhara, Director-General of the Defense Agency (now Ministry of Defense) and General Yasuhiro Ueda, Chief of the Air Staff, resigned afterward to take responsibility for the incident. [4]

The loss of Flight 58 was the deadliest civil aviation disaster at the time, surpassing the 1969 crash of Viasa Flight 742, [6] and remained so until the crash of Aeroflot Flight 217 a year later. It was also the deadliest accident to occurred in Japan at that time, surpassing the 1966 crash that also crashed on the same route 5 years earlier. It remains the deadliest accident in All Nippon Airways history, the second-deadliest involving a Boeing 727, behind Mexicana de Aviación Flight 940, [13] and the third-deadliest on Japanese soil behind Japan Air Lines Flight 123 and China Airlines Flight 140. [14] ANA still operates the flight number 58, and also operate the same route (Sapporo-Tokyo), but now this flight is operated by the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The aircraft was a Boeing 727-200 model. Boeing assigns a unique code for each company that buys one of its aircraft and applies it as a suffix to the model number at the time the aircraft is built. All Nippon's code is 81, hence "727-281".

Related Research Articles

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. As of April 2023, the airline has approximately 12,800 employees. The airline joined as a Star Alliance member in October 1999.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NAMC YS-11</span> Turboprop airliner produced by NAMC (Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation)

The NAMC YS-11 is a turboprop airliner designed and built by the Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (NAMC), a Japanese consortium. It was the only post-war airliner to be wholly designed and manufactured in Japan until the development of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet during the 2010s, roughly 50 years later.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1972.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1971.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1975.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1976.

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naha Airport</span> Airport serving Okinawa, Japan

Naha Airport is a second class airport located 4 km (2.5 mi) west of the city hall in Naha, Okinawa. It is Japan's seventh busiest airport and the primary air terminal for passengers and cargo traveling to and from Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It handles scheduled international traffic to Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and mainland China. The airport is also home to Naha Air Base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kam Air Flight 904</span> 2005 aviation accident

Kam Air Flight 904 was a scheduled passenger domestic flight from Herat Airfield in Herat to Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. On 3 February 2005 the aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain killing all 97 passengers and 8 crew on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chitose Air Base</span> Airport in Hokkaidō, Japan

Chitose Air Base, is a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base located in Chitose, Hokkaidō, adjacent to New Chitose Airport. It is the JASDF's primary base in northern Japan and tasked with monitoring Japan's maritime borders with Russia. It was also Hokkaidō's primary civilian airport until the opening of New Chitose Airport in 1988. Together, these two jointly operated and connected airports create one of the largest regional airports in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hachijojima Airport</span> Airport

Hachijojima Airport is a regional airport serving Hachijōjima in the southern Izu Islands, Tokyo, Japan.

Japan Domestic Airlines Co., Ltd. was the predecessor of Japan Air System. On April 15, 1964, Nitto Aviation Co., Ltd. (NAL), Fuji Airlines Co., Ltd. (FAL), and North Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (NJA) merged to form Japan Domestic Airlines. On May 15, 1971, the airline merged with Toa Airways to form Toa Domestic Airlines; on April 1, 1988 the merged airline renamed itself to Japan Air System. Japan Air System merged into Japan Airlines in the early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Nippon Airways Flight 60</span> 1966 aviation accident

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Flight 60 was a Boeing 727-81 aircraft making a domestic commercial flight from Sapporo Chitose Airport to Tokyo Haneda International Airport. On February 4, 1966, all 133 people on board died when the plane mysteriously crashed into Tokyo Bay about 10.4 km from Haneda in clear weather conditions while on a night approach. The accident was the worst involving a single aircraft and was also the deadliest accident in Japan at that time until All Nippon Airways Flight 58 crashed 5 years later, killing 162.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402</span> 1966 deadly plane crash in Tokyo, Japan

On March 4, 1966, Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402 (CP402) struck the approach lights and a seawall during a night landing attempt in poor visibility at Haneda Airport in Japan. Of the 62 passengers and 10 crew, only 8 passengers survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matsushima Air Field</span> Airport in Higashimatsushima, Japan

JASDF Matsushima Air Base is a military aerodrome of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force located in Higashimatsushima, 6.6 NM west of Ishinomaki in the Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Headquarters for the 4th Air Wing (JASDF), the base is primarily used for training, and is the home of the JASDF 21st Fighter Training Squadron, currently equipped with Mitsubishi F-2B fighters. It is also the home base for the "Blue Impulse" JASDF acrobatic display team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103</span> 1992 mid-air collision

Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103 was a Boeing 727-2L5 with 10 crew and 147 passengers on board that collided with a LARAF Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23UB on 22 December 1992. All 157 people on board flight 1103 were killed, while the crew of the MiG-23 ejected and survived. It was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Libya at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fighter units of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force</span>

Fighter units of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force are squadrons of fighter aircraft dedicated to the defense of Japan. As Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution states that the country renounces war, JASDF fighter squadrons have never been deployed in combat overseas.

References

  1. ↑ Sekigawa, Eiichiro (April 1975). "Mitsubishi's Mentor... ...Supersonics from Nagoya". Air International. Vol. 8, no. 4. p. 172.
  2. 1 2 "161 Die In Worst Aviation Disaster". Coshocton Tribune. Ohio. July 30, 1971. p. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 "162 Die in Japan in Worst Air Crash on Record". The New York Times. July 31, 1971.
  4. 1 2 3 Akihiro, Sadao (2017). 自衛隊史：日本防衛政策七十年[Self-Defense Force History: Japan's Defense Policy for Seventy Years] (in Traditional Chinese). Translated by Yida, Zhao. Eight Banners Culture, Hiking Culture. pp. 125–126. ISBN   978-986-93844-1-4.
  5. 1 2 "Accident description, ANA Boeing 727-281 JA8329 near Shizukuishi, Japan". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "Disasters: The Worst Ever". Time . 9 August 1971. Archived from the original on 1 February 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "朝日新聞1971年8月1日" [Asahi Shimbun August 1, 1971]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). August 1, 1971.
  8. 1 2 3 "全日本空輸株式会社ボーイング式727-200型,ja 8329および航空自衛隊f-86f-40型,92-7932事故調査報告書(1)" [All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Boeing 727-200, JA 8329 and Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-86F-40, 92-7932 accident investigation report (1)]. Journal of the Japan Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (in Japanese). Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission. 21 (237): 624–640. 1973. doi: 10.2322/jjsass1969.21.624 – via J-STAGE.
  9. ↑ Simpson, Paul (2014). The Mammoth Book of Air Disasters and Near Misses. London: Robinson. ISBN   978-1-78033-828-6.
  10. ↑ "全日本空輸株式会社ボーイング式727-200型,ja 8329および航空自衛隊f86 F-40型,92-7932事故調査報告書(2)" [All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. Boeing 727-200, JA 8329 and Japan Air Self-Defense Force F86 F-40, 92-7932 accident investigation report (2)]. Journal of the Japan Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (in Japanese). Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission. 21 (238): 689–702. 1973. doi: 10.2322/jjsass1969.21.689 – via J-STAGE.
  11. ↑ "最高裁判所第一小法廷判決 昭和53(あ)1333" [Japanese Supreme Court Minor Courtroom adjudication 1978(A)1333] (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  12. ↑ "This Day in History: Jul 30; Fighter jet collides with passenger plane, 1971". www.history.com. A&E Television Networks . Retrieved 16 July 2016.
  13. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Boeing 727". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
  14. ↑ Ranter, Harro. "Japan air safety profile". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 2005-03-07. Retrieved 2018-10-04.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.