Japan Air Lines Flight 350

Japan Air Lines Flight 350 (日本航空350便, Nihonkōkū 350 Bin) was a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61, registered JA8061, on a domestic scheduled passenger flight from Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, to Tokyo in Japan.[2] The airplane crashed 9 February 1982 on approach to Haneda Airport in Tokyo Bay, resulting in 24 fatalities.[3] Flight 350 was the first crash for Japan Air Lines in the 1980s.[4] The investigation traced the cause of the crash to the deliberate actions of the captain.

Japan Air Lines Flight 350
日本航空350便
Wreckage of JA8061
Occurrence
Date9 February 1982
SummaryDeliberate crash by pilot
SiteHaneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan
35.53729°N 139.78244°E / 35.53729; 139.78244
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas DC-8-61[1]
OperatorJapan Air Lines
IATA flight No.JL350
ICAO flight No.JAL350
Call signJAPAN AIR 350
RegistrationJA8061
Flight originFukuoka Airport
DestinationHaneda Airport
Passengers166
Crew8
Fatalities24
Survivors150

Flight
Crashed aircraft

The crew consisted of 35-year-old Captain Seiji Katagiri (片桐 清二 Katagiri Seiji), 33-year-old First Officer Yoshifumi Ishikawa, and 48-year-old flight engineer Yoshimi Ozaki.[5] The cause of the crash was traced to Katagiri's deliberate crashing of the plane.

One report states that the captain engaged the inboard engines' thrust-reversers in flight.[1][5] Another report states that, during descent, Katagiri "cancelled autopilot, pushed his controls forward and retarded the throttles to idle."[2] Ishikawa and Ozaki worked to restrain Katagiri and regain control.[6] Despite their efforts, the DC-8's descent could not be completely checked and it touched down in shallow water 510 meters (1673 feet) short of the runway. During the crash, the cockpit section of the DC-8 separated from the rest of the fuselage and continued to travel for several meters before coming to a halt.[2]

Among the 166 passengers and 8 crew, 24 died. Following the incident, Katagiri, one of the first people to take a rescue boat, told rescuers that he was an office worker to avoid being identified as the captain.[7] Katagiri was later found to have paranoid schizophrenia[8] prior to the incident, which resulted in his being ruled not guilty by reason of insanity.[9] Investigators for the Japanese government attributed the incident to a lack of proper medical examinations which allowed Katagiri to fly.[8][10]

Katagiri has since been released from psychiatric care and lives near Mount Fuji.[11]

After the crash, Japan Air Lines retired flight number 350 until present

See also

References
  1. Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 02091982[Usurped!]
  2. Aviation Safety Network, Accident description. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  3. Chen, P. Y. (15 February 1982). "The pilot of a Japan Air Lines DC-8 jet..." UPI. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  4. "History of JAL". Japan Airlines. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
  5. Stokes, Henry Scott. "Cockpit Fight Reported on Jet That Crashed in Tokyo," The New York Times. 14 February 1982. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  6. Byrne, Gerry (27 March 2015). "The enemy within: rogue pilots pose dilemma for airlines". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. "Troubled Pilot". Time. 1 March 1982. Archived from the original on 2 May 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
  8. Chen, P. Y. (17 May 1983). "JAL medics blamed for crash". United Press International. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  9. Shreeya Sinha (26 March 2015). "A History of Crashes Caused by Pilots' Intentional Acts". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2015. Seiji Katagiri, 35, the pilot of a Japan Air Lines DC-8 sent the plane into Tokyo Bay moments before it was to land on February 9, 1982, killing 24 of the 166 passengers on board. Katagiri, who survived the crash, was prosecuted, but he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He had a history of 'psychosomatic disorders' in late 1980, but airline doctors said he was fit for duty.
  10. Vuorio, Alpo; Laukkala, Tanja; Pooshan, Navathe; Budowle, Bruce; Eyre, Anne; Sajantila, Antti (1 August 2015). "On doctors' accountability and flight deck safety". Croatian Medical Journal. 56 (4): 385–386. doi:10.3325/cmj.2015.56.385. ISSN 0353-9504. PMC 4576753. PMID 26321033.
  11. "The Suicidal Pilot Who Survived". Archived from the original on 15 February 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
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