Japan Air Lines Flight 350
![]() Wreckage of JA8061 | |
Occurrence | |
---|---|
Date | 9 February 1982 |
Summary | Deliberate crash by pilot |
Site | Haneda Airport, Tokyo, Japan 35°32′14″N 139°46′57″E / 35.53729°N 139.78244°E |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-8-61[1] |
Operator | Japan Air Lines |
IATA flight No. | JL350 |
ICAO flight No. | JAL350 |
Call sign | JAPAN AIR 350 |
Registration | JA8061 |
Flight origin | Fukuoka Airport |
Destination | Haneda Airport |
Passengers | 166 |
Crew | 8 |
Fatalities | 24 |
Injuries | Several |
Survivors | 150 |
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.
Flight
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/JAL_Flight_350_wreckage.png/220px-JAL_Flight_350_wreckage.png)
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.
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