3 aircraft accidents in Japan since 2000

The Airbus A350-900 operated by JAL Japan Airlines took off from Sapporo, Japan, for a passenger flight to Tokyo, Japan. 367 passengers and 12 crewmembers were onboard. The A350 landed on Tokyo airport in nighttime conditions but collided with Japanese Coast Guard aircraft on the runway upon touchdown. The nose landing gear collapsed and the A350 burst into flames. The A350 came to a stop down on the runway and was evacuated. All 379 occupants escaped, and the A350 burned down. 17 occupants of the A350 received injuries. The Coast Guard aircraft also burst into flames: its captain was seriously injured, and the five other occupants were killed.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-11F operated by FedEx departed Guangzhou, China on a cargo flight to Tokyo-Narita, Japan. The MD-11 landed in high winds. Two crewmembers were onboard (the captain and the first officer). The plane crashed on landing at Tokyo airport, killing both crewmembers. While landing on runway 16R/34L, the airplane bounced on first touchdown, then dropped from 50-100 ft onto the nosewheel at which point, the plane rapidly banked to the left. The port wing impacted the ground and a fire erupted. The MD-11 rolled further onto its back and slid off the runway. A bright orange fireball and black billowing smoke engulfed the plane as it flipped and skidded off the runway. Firefighters sprayed foam onto the broken remains of the plane with its wheels in the air. Strong winds gusts up to 75 km/h (40 kts) were lashing the airport area at the time of the crash, and that it had warned airlines of wind shear (sudden change in wind direction that can destabilize a plane). It is probable the plane encountered a wind-shear that caused the MD-11 to dive just before touching down, then hit violently the runway, bounced, and destabilized the plane.

The Boeing 737-800 belonging to China Airlines departed Taipei, Taiwan, and landed at Okinawa, Japan. Okinawa Airport traffic controllers had received no report from the pilot indicating anything was wrong as the plane came in to land and even as it stopped near the terminal to unload passengers. Soon after the plane arrived at the stand, a fire erupted in or near the left engine. All 157 passengers fled the Boeing 737-800 unhurt on inflated emergency slides. The eight-member crew also safely left the plane. A figure believed to be the pilot hung onto the cockpit window for several seconds before dropping to the tarmac and sprinting away from the exploding plane. When all occupants had evacuated, a large explosion occurred in the centre of the airplane.