ID :
51953
Tue, 03/24/2009 - 14:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/51953
The shortlink copeid
FedEx cargo plane crash-lands at Narita airport, 2 dead+
NARITA, Japan, March 23 Kyodo - A FedEx cargo plane from China crash-landed and burst into flames Monday morning at Narita International Airport, east of Tokyo, killing the two U.S.
crew members aboard and causing widespread flight disruption at Japan's largest international gateway.
In light of the accident, the transport ministry's Transport Safety Board
dispatched to the site six aircraft accident investigators, planning to see if
wind shear -- a condition in which wind speed and direction suddenly change --
occurred above the runway as the MD-11 aircraft attempted to land at around
6:50 a.m., causing the accident.
According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, airport
traffic controllers had warned the plane of the possibility of wind shear up to
an altitude of 600 meters, before landing.
Winds of up to 72 kilometers per hour were blowing in the vicinity of the
airport at the time.
But other flights that arrived shortly before the cargo plane landed safely at
the runway, heightening views that wind shear may have caused the accident.
It is the first fatal aircraft accident at Narita airport since it opened in
1978, according to the airport operating company.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled a total of 75 flights, mostly
international, affecting nearly 20,000 passengers.
Some arriving flights have been rerouted to other airports.
The airport's main A Runway, on which the cargo plane touched down, was closed
in the wake of the accident.
The airport operator said resumption of the runway's operations remain
uncertain, hinting that cancellation of long-distance routes such as
international flights could become prolonged.
According to the transport ministry, the transportation safety board is still
investigating the charred fuselage and it cannot yet be removed. The airport
also needs to restore light signals that broke due to the crash before
considering restarting operations there.
The B Runway, however, is operating and the airport operator intends to extend
operation by four hours until 3 a.m. Tuesday to accommodate for possible needs.
The police, meanwhile, said Monday it has set up a task force and has already
begun investigating the accident on suspicion of professional negligence
resulting in deaths.
The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States is also expected
to dispatch officials to Japan and cooperate in investigations here.
A senior FedEx official held a press conference Monday afternoon at the airport
and offered an apology for officials and users of the airport.
He told reporters at Narita airport that the company has no information on the
accident and it is under investigation. The official also refrained from
disclosing cargo status or the personal history of the pilot.
The aircraft, Flight 80 from Guangzhou, China, had flammable liquid aboard,
according to the transport ministry. It took firefighters more than two hours
to extinguish the blaze, which destroyed the aircraft.
Two bodies were pulled from the cockpit at around 8 a.m., the Chiba prefectural
police said.
The police said they confirmed with FedEx that the crew members on the flight
were Kevin Kyle Mosley, 54, the pilot, and Anthony Stephen Pino, 49, the
copilot -- both U.S. citizens.
Video footage showed the plane touching down on its rear wheels and its nose
slamming into the runway.
The plane bounced and its left wing hit the ground, bursting into flames. It
then overturned and veered off the runway with flames coming from the center of
the fuselage.
A FedEx employee who arrived at the accident site said the aircraft was
blackened by fire on the inside and that the cargo was destroyed, adding the
two crew members aboard apparently had no time to escape.
At the airport, many travelers were bewildered as their flights had been
canceled due to the shutdown of one of the main runways.
''(The airline company canceled my flight but) said they will not return my
money. I want to go home, but can't,'' said a 28-year-old company employee from
Hyogo Prefecture.
''I'll have to (wait for a cancellation) even if it means spending the night
here, and hope things turn out better tomorrow,'' she added.
More than 200 people formed lines at the airport waiting for a seat opening,
while others lined up in front of one of the few public payphones to make
toll-free calls to their travel agencies or airlines.
==Kyodo
crew members aboard and causing widespread flight disruption at Japan's largest international gateway.
In light of the accident, the transport ministry's Transport Safety Board
dispatched to the site six aircraft accident investigators, planning to see if
wind shear -- a condition in which wind speed and direction suddenly change --
occurred above the runway as the MD-11 aircraft attempted to land at around
6:50 a.m., causing the accident.
According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, airport
traffic controllers had warned the plane of the possibility of wind shear up to
an altitude of 600 meters, before landing.
Winds of up to 72 kilometers per hour were blowing in the vicinity of the
airport at the time.
But other flights that arrived shortly before the cargo plane landed safely at
the runway, heightening views that wind shear may have caused the accident.
It is the first fatal aircraft accident at Narita airport since it opened in
1978, according to the airport operating company.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways canceled a total of 75 flights, mostly
international, affecting nearly 20,000 passengers.
Some arriving flights have been rerouted to other airports.
The airport's main A Runway, on which the cargo plane touched down, was closed
in the wake of the accident.
The airport operator said resumption of the runway's operations remain
uncertain, hinting that cancellation of long-distance routes such as
international flights could become prolonged.
According to the transport ministry, the transportation safety board is still
investigating the charred fuselage and it cannot yet be removed. The airport
also needs to restore light signals that broke due to the crash before
considering restarting operations there.
The B Runway, however, is operating and the airport operator intends to extend
operation by four hours until 3 a.m. Tuesday to accommodate for possible needs.
The police, meanwhile, said Monday it has set up a task force and has already
begun investigating the accident on suspicion of professional negligence
resulting in deaths.
The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States is also expected
to dispatch officials to Japan and cooperate in investigations here.
A senior FedEx official held a press conference Monday afternoon at the airport
and offered an apology for officials and users of the airport.
He told reporters at Narita airport that the company has no information on the
accident and it is under investigation. The official also refrained from
disclosing cargo status or the personal history of the pilot.
The aircraft, Flight 80 from Guangzhou, China, had flammable liquid aboard,
according to the transport ministry. It took firefighters more than two hours
to extinguish the blaze, which destroyed the aircraft.
Two bodies were pulled from the cockpit at around 8 a.m., the Chiba prefectural
police said.
The police said they confirmed with FedEx that the crew members on the flight
were Kevin Kyle Mosley, 54, the pilot, and Anthony Stephen Pino, 49, the
copilot -- both U.S. citizens.
Video footage showed the plane touching down on its rear wheels and its nose
slamming into the runway.
The plane bounced and its left wing hit the ground, bursting into flames. It
then overturned and veered off the runway with flames coming from the center of
the fuselage.
A FedEx employee who arrived at the accident site said the aircraft was
blackened by fire on the inside and that the cargo was destroyed, adding the
two crew members aboard apparently had no time to escape.
At the airport, many travelers were bewildered as their flights had been
canceled due to the shutdown of one of the main runways.
''(The airline company canceled my flight but) said they will not return my
money. I want to go home, but can't,'' said a 28-year-old company employee from
Hyogo Prefecture.
''I'll have to (wait for a cancellation) even if it means spending the night
here, and hope things turn out better tomorrow,'' she added.
More than 200 people formed lines at the airport waiting for a seat opening,
while others lined up in front of one of the few public payphones to make
toll-free calls to their travel agencies or airlines.
==Kyodo
