"Thought I Was Going To Die": Flier Posts Videos From Inside Japan Plane

Videos from inside the Japan Airlines plane that caught fire after reportedly colliding with a coast guard aircraft at the Tokyo-Haneda airport today show the anxious moments that passengers went through when the flames were leaping out of the plane's belly. 

Apparently shot by a passenger, one of the videos from the aircraft's window shows an orange glow, characteristic of a fire, and smoke emanating from the bottom of the aircraft as it continues to taxi after landing. The soundtrack of the scary few seconds is the amplified sound of the wheels as the plane hurtles down the runway, and what seems to be the ding of the seatbelt sign going on and off. 

The passenger posted two videos on X, formerly Twitter, with just one sentence: "I thought I was going to die". NDTV cannot independently verify the authenticity of the videos, which were posted from the @alto_maple handle.

死ぬかと思った pic.twitter.com/S7rDPmyssl

— あ (@alto_maple) January 2, 2024

The other, three-second, video shows smoke inside the cabin and a passenger trying to hold his face mask closer to his mouth and nose. Some other fliers can also be heard shouting. 

All 379 passengers and crew were evacuated before the flames engulfed the entire plane, but there is no clarity yet on how many have been injured. Reports said five people aboard the coast guard aircraft have been killed and one has been injured. 

Japan's ministry of land, infrastructure, transport and Tourism said it is probing the incident.

The collision at one of the world's busiest airports comes just a day after a series of earthquakes killed nearly 50 people in the country, marking a tragic beginning of 2024 for Japan. Local media reports said the coast guard aircraft was going to take off for a rescue mission to help people affected by the quakes.