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Kyodo News
5 days ago
- General
- Kyodo News
FEATURE: Aging kin of 1985 JAL jet crash victims leaving messages for future
UENO, Japan - The steady passing of aging relatives of the victims of the 1985 Japan Airlines jumbo jet crash has been sad to watch for Kuniko Miyajima, a leading advocate for those who lost loved ones in the world's deadliest single-aircraft accident. But on its 40th anniversary, Miyajima's dedication to remembering the tragedy through her support group remains steadfast, especially in the interest of future air safety. In its first essay collection in a decade, her group self-published a booklet in mid-July in which dozens of its members record their emotional journeys and still-vivid memories of those they lost in hopes that it will provide valuable life lessons. "Telling our stories requires forcing our emotions out and it always carries a bit of pain. But safety is something we must build together, rather than just pray or wish for," writes the association of bereaved families. "Not forgetting the feelings helps strengthen safety culture." Preserving the memories of the accident remains challenging, both among the public and within Japan Airlines Co. As of the end of March, only 0.1 percent of employees had been with the company since the disaster. Including those rehired after reaching retirement age, the percentage is 3.6, according to JAL. The association released a collection of memoirs nearly every year until the 30th anniversary, titled "Akanegumo" (Red Cloud). The title refers to the sunset glow that passengers and crew aboard JAL Flight 123 would have seen on the evening flight before the crash, which claimed the lives of all but four of the 524 on board. In the new booklet, "After the Red Cloud," Machiko Taniguchi, 77, writes about how she still misses her husband, who died in the tragedy at the age of 40. She vows to continue her efforts to pass down her family's story through an illustrated book she created. Kimi Ozawa, whose 29-year-old husband died while she was pregnant with their child, writes, "Our son and his wife are now showing me a world I had hoped to walk through with you. They are beaming and, in them, I see reflections of ourselves." "Another year begins, and I will try to live -- please watch me, like you've always done," she adds. Some of the victims' offspring also contributed. Masayoshi Yamamoto, who was 5 when his father died in the crash, says he is happy watching his own children grow up. However, he cannot help but think, "If only my father were alive." Yamamoto reaches out to younger generations through a manga portraying the accident on social media. He says he wishes to preserve the lessons learned, especially as the anniversary makes him think more about aging families and fading memories. Many contributors felt the significance of recording their thoughts as they looked beyond the 40th anniversary, said Miyajima. An unexpectedly large number of essays were submitted, including some from elderly individuals who may have difficulty writing. A total of 32 people revealed their feelings in the booklet, including seven who had never contributed to the "Akanegumo" series before. In late July, Miyajima presented the latest publication to around 200 JAL employees gathered at the airline's headquarters in Tokyo to listen to her lecture on safety. "This is not just about resentment and bitterness," she told them, encouraging the audience to read the booklet. "I hope you will see a light for the future." In her essay, Miyajima, 78, writes about the helpless rage and sorrow she felt for her 9-year-old son, Ken, who died in the accident on Aug. 12, 1985. She also writes about her commitment to "forever keeping alive the memory of those who perished in the sunset sky" and her gratitude to those who have supported her. On the day of the accident, Miyajima saw Ken off at Haneda airport in Tokyo as he boarded the ill-fated flight to Osaka to visit relatives. His solo plane trip was a reward from his parents for swimming 25 meters in a pool for the first time. Approximately 12 minutes after takeoff, the flight crew lost control of the Boeing 747 and it slammed 32 minutes later into a mountain in Gunma Prefecture, which came to be called Osutaka Ridge. The accident stemmed from a faulty repair of the plane's rear pressure bulkhead seven years earlier following a tail-strike incident during landing. According to the accident investigation report, the bulkhead ruptured, blowing off the aircraft's vertical stabilizer and destroying its hydraulic lines. Only parts of Ken's body including his right hand were retrieved and returned to his family. Miyajima, who described herself as an "ordinary housewife" before the crash, became a powerful advocate for air safety and better assistance for victims of public transportation accidents after her son's death. Her group's persistent calls to preserve the wreckage of the crashed plane were successful when, in 2006, JAL opened its Safety Promotion Center, which displays parts of the crashed aircraft as well as other debris, and actual notes and photos of the final messages written by those on board. The center, located near Haneda airport, is used for the education of JAL Group employees and is open to the public. The facility inspired European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SE to open its own safety center in 2023, which showcases lessons learned from past accidents. During her July lecture, Miyajima praised the response to an incident in which a JAL jetliner collided with a coast guard plane at Haneda airport in January 2024, with all 379 passengers and crew evacuated from the burning JAL plane in what some foreign media outlets called a "miracle." Miyajima noted that continual training was likely behind the swift evacuation but emphasized that safety also relies on individual mindsets and the importance of being open to varying points of view. "I sometimes felt that JAL employees were shunning the bereaved families, which hurt my feelings because it made me think that the company was made up of people who were all the same, lacking individuality," she said. "But -- although it took quite a while -- there have been employees thought about safety with us and walked alongside us," she said. "As the 41st year begins, let's work together to create safety."
The Irish Sun
6 days ago
- General
- The Irish Sun
Final pics show Japan Airlines Flight 123 mins before crash that left 520 dead… & the critical failure that spelled doom
FOUR decades on, the doomed Japan Airlines Flight 123 crash remains one of the world's worst aviation disasters of all time. Haunting final pictures show the jet just moments before it crashed because of a critical failure - killing 520 people on board. 7 A photo taken by a witness on the ground appears to show Flight 123 missing its tailfin Credit: Wikipedia 7 The last photo taken on board the fatal Japan Airlines flight shows oxygen masks hanging Credit: Reddit 7 The plane was headed to Osaka after departing Tokyo Credit: Reddit Tragedy struck on August 12, 1985 when the Boeing 747SR-46 jet crashed just 62 miles northwest of Tokyo. On board the jet were 509 passengers and 15 crew members. Only four of them survived. The flight, dubbed the "Titanic of Japan", took off from Tokyo and was headed to Osaka but tragically crashed in the remote area of remote mountain area of Mount Takamagahara. read more aviation disasters BALL OF FIRE 25 children killed along with teacher & pilot as jet crashes into school And to date, it remains the worst disaster in the history of Japanese aviation. One of the last few pictures shows the Jet missing its tailfin. Another picture, thought to be the final picture taken on board, shows oxygen masks hanging from the ceiling. It is thought that the plane was perfectly fine, and the journey began normally after all the routine checks. But just 12 minutes after takeoff, First Officer Yutaka Sasaki and Captain Masami Takahama noticed a tremor tear through the plane. The jet decompressed rapidly, which caused the ceiling near the rear bathrooms to collapse. How pilots cutting engines sparked TWO plane disasters after South Korea & India crashes as calls for cockpit CCTV grow It extensively damaged the fuselage and destroyed the plane's vertical stabiliser and all four hydraulic lines. Moments after the tremor was detected, the air condensed into a fog, forcing the oxygen masks down. For a terrifying 30 minutes, the pilots fought hard to claim control of the plane, but the jet was in a vicious and disorienting cycle of falling and then rising. Passengers shouted as they were thrown around the plane by the rapid spiralling, while the pilots fought to bring the jet to safety. But the out-of-control plane continued to descend and got closer to the mountains, where it crashed and exploded. 7 According to reports, Captain Takahama made a last-ditch effort to keep the aircraft aloft by using the engine thrust to ascend and fall. He is believed to have yelled: "This is the end!" Around 20 minutes after impact, US Air Force serviceman Michael Antonucci reported the crash site. In the aftermath of the crash, the search and rescue efforts were delayed, and survivors were not found until several hours later. This delay likely contributed to the high death toll, as some victims who survived the initial impact died before help could arrive. Japanese officials delayed sending a rescue crew, assuming that no one had survived, and told Antonucci not to discuss the disaster. 7 Japan Airlines (JAL) flight 123 crash site Credit: Getty 7 Members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in a rescue operation at the crash site at the ridge of Mount Takamagahara Credit: Getty - Contributor 7 Photo dated 13 August 1985 shows a wing from the Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 that crashed Credit: AFP The Japanese military only sent rescue teams in the following morning, a whole 12 hours after the crash had been reported. Antonucci revealed a decade later: "Four people survived. Many more could have. "At the time it occurred, I was ordered not to speak about it." One doctor involved in the rescue mission said: "If the discovery had come 10 hours earlier, we could have found more survivors." Yumi Ochiai, a survivor, claimed to have heard other survivors wailing all through the night, until the intense cold finally got to them. Antonucci added that had it "not been for efforts to avoid embarrassing Japanese authorities", a team of US Marines could have searched the wreckage less than two hours after the crash. The puzzle began to come together as more teams were dispatched to retrieve body and plane parts. Two years later, after a comprehensive investigation, Japan's Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission determined that the decompression was caused by a botched repair by Boeing workers. The same aircraft had thudded heavily upon landing at Itami Airport in June 1978, causing extensive tail damage. The impact also cracked open the pressure bulkhead, necessitating immediate repairs. However, Boeing's repair personnel utilised two spice plates parallel to the break in the bulkhead instead of one, rendering the repair job worthless. According to Ron Schleede, a member of the US National Transportation Safety Board, the crew did everything they could to avoid the disaster, which was "inevitable".
Daily Tribune
12-08-2025
- General
- Daily Tribune
Families Remember Japan's Deadliest Plane Crash 40 Years On
On August 12, 2025, family members of those who died in the world's deadliest single-aircraft accident gathered in Japan to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. They hiked together to the crash site on Osutaka Mountain Ridge, where Japan Airlines Flight 123 came down in 1985, killing 520 people. The Boeing 747 had been flying from Tokyo to Osaka when it crashed about 120 kilometers northwest of Tokyo, just 40 minutes into the flight. Hundreds of people, including relatives and friends of the victims, climbed the mountain to visit the cenotaph built to honor those who lost their lives. One woman, who lost her younger brother in the crash, shared her feelings with Fuji TV: 'I want to tell him that all of his family members are alive, carrying his spirit with us. We are doing our best to live our lives.' In the evening, a quiet ceremony was held at the foot of the mountain where people offered white chrysanthemums and lit candles in memory of the victims. Gunma Governor Ichita Yamamoto said, 'It is our responsibility to make sure this tragic event is never forgotten and that its lessons are passed on to future generations.' The crash happened when the plane lost control shortly after takeoff. A loud noise was heard about 10 minutes into the flight, followed by an emergency call. The plane then shook violently before crashing. Most of the passengers were holiday travelers returning home during Japan's Obon festival. Out of the 520 people on board—505 passengers and 15 crew members—only four survived. An investigation later revealed that faulty repairs done by Boeing engineers years earlier had caused critical damage to the plane's rear bulkhead, leading to the accident. While this remains Japan's worst air disaster, it is the second deadliest single-aircraft accident worldwide. The deadliest was a 1977 collision of two planes in the Canary Islands, which killed 583 people. Japan has since faced other aviation scares. In January 2024, a Japan Airlines Airbus nearly collided with a coast guard plane at Haneda Airport. Thankfully, all 379 passengers on the JAL flight escaped safely, but sadly five of the six people on the smaller aircraft died.
The Star
12-08-2025
- General
- The Star
Families mark 40 years since deadly Japan Airlines crash with hike up mountain site
TOKYO: Family members of victims in the world's deadliest single-aircraft accident hiked Tuesday (Aug 12) to the mountainous site in Japan where the plane went down, as the country marked 40 years since the tragedy that killed 520 people. On August 12, 1985, the doomed Boeing 747 was around 40 minutes into an hour-long flight from Tokyo to Osaka, when it crashed into a mountain about 120 kilometres (75 miles) northwest of the capital. Tuesday saw hundreds of people -- including bereaved families and friends -- hike the trails up to the cenotaph erected on Mount Osutaka where the jet crashed. Among them was a woman who lost her younger brother in the accident. "I want to tell him that all of his family members are alive, with his soul on our shoulders", she told broadcaster Fuji TV. "We're doing our best to live our lives". Japan Airlines Flight 123 lost control soon after take-off, with a loud noise heard about 10 minutes into the trip and an emergency declared, before shaking violently and crashing. The plane was almost full, with many holidaymakers flying back to their hometowns during Japan's "obon" mid-summer festival. In the end, 505 passengers -- including a dozen infants -- and 15 crew members perished. Just four passengers survived. Imperfect repairs to the aircraft's rear bulkhead by Boeing engineers seven years earlier -- coupled with JAL's subsequent lack of oversight -- were blamed for the accident. Numerous, tiny cracks on the bulkhead -- unnoticed on prior flights -- burst, destroying a tail fin, rupturing hydraulic systems and sending the plane hurtling downward. The world's worst airline disaster was the 1977 runway collision of two 747s on Tenerife in the Canary Islands that left 583 dead. More recently in Japan, a near-catastrophic collision occurred at Haneda airport between a Japan Airlines aircraft and a smaller coast guard plane in January 2024. All 379 people on board the JAL Airbus escaped just before the aircraft was engulfed in flames, but five of the six people on the smaller aircraft died. - AFP
New Straits Times
12-08-2025
- General
- New Straits Times
Families mourn 40 years since deadly Japan Airlines crash
TOKYO: Family members of victims in the world's deadliest single-aircraft accident hiked on Tuesday to the mountainous site in Japan where the plane went down, as the country marked 40 years since the tragedy that killed 520 people. On August 12, 1985, the doomed Boeing 747 was around 40 minutes into an hour-long flight from Tokyo to Osaka when it crashed into a mountain about 120 kilometres (75 miles) north-west of the capital. Tuesday saw hundreds of people – including bereaved families and friends – hike the trails up to the cenotaph erected on Osutaka Mountain Ridge in the Gunma region where the jet crashed. Among them was a woman who lost her younger brother in the accident. "I want to tell him that all of his family members are alive, with his soul on our shoulders," she told broadcaster Fuji TV. "We're doing our best to live our lives." They gathered for a solemn ceremony at the foot of the mountain in the evening to offer white chrysanthemums to the deceased and to light candles at a memorial. "It is our responsibility to ensure that this unprecedented tragedy does not fade away and that its lessons are passed on to the future," Gunma governor Ichita Yamamoto said in his address. Japan Airlines Flight 123 lost control soon after take-off, with a loud noise heard about 10 minutes into the trip and an emergency declared, before shaking violently and crashing. The plane was almost full, with many holidaymakers flying back to their hometowns during Japan's "obon" mid-summer festival. In the end, 505 passengers – including a dozen infants – and 15 crew members perished. Just four passengers survived. Imperfect repairs to the aircraft's rear bulkhead by Boeing engineers seven years earlier – coupled with JAL's subsequent lack of oversight – were blamed for the accident. Numerous tiny cracks on the bulkhead – unnoticed on prior flights – burst, destroying a tail fin, rupturing hydraulic systems and sending the plane hurtling downwards. The world's worst airline disaster was the 1977 runway collision of two 747s on Tenerife in the Canary Islands that left 583 dead. More recently in Japan, a near-catastrophic collision occurred at Haneda airport between a Japan Airlines aircraft and a smaller coast guard plane in January 2024. All 379 people on board the JAL Airbus escaped just before the aircraft was engulfed in flames, but five of the six people on the smaller aircraft died.
