A memorial ceremony was held Monday for the five Japan Coast Guard members killed in a collision between a JCG plane and a Japan Airlines passenger aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Jan. 2.
The ceremony took place at a facility of the JCG’s third regional headquarters on the premises of the airport, bringing together about 70 people that included officials from the regional headquarters and bereaved relatives.
After the attendees offered silent prayers for the five victims, who belonged to the regional headquarters, Shinji Miyamoto, head the branch, said in a speech: “It was an unprecedentedly tragic accident. Without refusing to face the reality, we’ve worked with the determination that we will never repeat such a sad accident.”
“You will always be on our minds,” he added, paying tribute to the deceased JCG members.
“We sincerely hope that the loss of the precious lives of our loved ones will never be wasted” and that the tragedy will serve as a lesson for the future, the bereaved relatives said in a statement released through their representatives.
In the Jan. 2 accident, the JCG aircraft, which was about to take off from Haneda to transport relief goods following a major earthquake in the Noto Peninsula the preceding day, collided with an incoming JAL plane on a runway at the airport. Five of the JCG aircraft’s six crew members, excluding its captain, died.
According to the communication records released by the transport ministry after the accident, the JCG aircraft entered the runway contrary to the air traffic controller’s instruction. The Japan Transport Safety Board, affiliated with the ministry, is investigating the details of the accident.
