A large-scale emergency response drill took place at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport following the aircraft collision that occurred in January.
In the accident on January 2, a Japan Airlines passenger jet collided with a coast guard aircraft on the runway immediately after the jetliner touched down.
About 1,000 people from 96 organizations, including the transport ministry’s Tokyo airport office, the Tokyo Fire Department and local medical associations, participated.
The drill was conducted under the scenario that a passenger jet skidded off the runway upon landing, and then an engine caught fire causing many injuries.
Firefighters immediately carried out initial efforts to extinguish the fire, and passengers evacuated using emergency slides.
Since it took unnecessary time to guide emergency vehicles during the January accident, airport authorities reviewed their response system. From September, they appointed staffers who are well acquainted with conditions within restricted areas to guide such vehicles.
In the exercise, officials in charge instructed the emergency cars to the site and confirmed their procedures.
At the accident site in January, various groups responded using their own radios, preventing smooth communications. So the participants in the drill shared common equipment provided by the airport.
A senior official of the Tokyo airport office said the drill served as an opportunity for the participants to confirm how to share information and respond in a coordinated manner.
He said it is important to examine problems that were discovered through the exercise and to follow up with improved measures.