Japan Coast Guard plane not cleared for takeoff before collision: transcripts

Authorities said on Wednesday that a passenger jet that collided with a coast guard turboprop at Haneda Airport was given permission to land, but the smaller plane was not cleared for takeoff, based on transcripts of conversations with the control tower.

All 379 people aboard the Japan Airlines (JAL) Airbus A350 had a miraculous escape after it erupted in flames following Tuesday’s crash with a De Havilland Dash-8 Coast Guard turboprop shortly after landing at Haneda Airport.

But five died among the six Coast Guard crew who were due to depart on a flight responding to a major earthquake on the west coast, while the captain, who escaped the wreckage, was badly injured.