Japan tightens air traffic control protocols after crash
Japan has tightened its air traffic control protocols after a fiery collision at Tokyo's main airport in which five people died but hundreds escaped to safety, the government said Wednesday, AFP reports.
The emergency safety measures were announced by the transport ministry after a Japan Airlines passenger jet crashed into a coast guard aircraft on a runway at Haneda Airport on January 2.
All 379 passengers and crew on the airliner were swiftly evacuated, but five of the six crew died on the smaller plane, which was heading to deliver supplies to an earthquake-hit region.
Under the new requirements in place nationwide, a staff member must constantly watch a monitoring system that alerts control towers when runway incursions take place.
And to prevent misunderstandings, controllers must not tell planes what number in line they are for take-off, the ministry said in statements uploaded to its website.
"One of my biggest missions is to restore confidence in aviation as public transport," Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito said Tuesday.
The ministry will set up an expert panel to investigate further ways to improve safety, with their recommendations to be announced this week.
