Japan plane fire: Family ‘still in shock’ after evacuating burning aircraft
A father who was on board a plane that burst into flames after it collided with a coastguard aircraft in Tokyo has said he and his family are “still in shock” following the ordeal.
William Manzione was with his wife and children when a Japan Airlines Airbus A350 aircraft hit a Bombardier Dash-8 on arrival at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.
The passenger plane was engulfed in flames, but all 379 passengers and crew were evacuated, with 14 people reportedly injured.
Five out of the six crew on board the coastguard’s aircraft died, with only the captain surviving.
Japan plane fire: What happened
Passengers on the airport apron after escaping the plane. Pic: William Manzione
All passengers and crew managed to leave the plane safely. Pic: William Manzione
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Manzione explained what it was like inside the aircraft and how his family dodged a “really big bullet”.
“My assumption was that something with the landing gear was broken, I was sitting on the front part of the plane, which as I saw later was the less affected part,” he said, when asked what happened when the plane landed.
“There was a huge impact and I looked my wife in the eyes and said ‘something is absolutely not right’.
“Within a few seconds there was a louder bang, and you felt the plane was bending on the front, towards the ground, then you start hearing the hostesses shouting in Japanese.
“I could understand they were trying to keep everyone calm and not panic, there were already some passengers trying to leave their seat.”
‘I still feel the adrenaline running’
More than 24 hours after evacuating the aircraft, Mr Manzione said: “I think we are under shock still, I feel the adrenaline running but also a feeling that it could have been much, much worse, we are all together here.”
He explained that it wasn’t until after he left the aircraft that he realised the true extent of the crash.
“I didn’t realise the whole situation. I was with my kids, one of who is seven, and my wife, we started following the hostesses instructions, everything was really quick,” he said.
People inside the burning Airbus A350
“When I got off my seat I started to see flames out the windows and then I realised this is not good.
“When I saw the inflatable slide, I understood this was bad. I took my son and we went down the slide and met with my other relatives. Then I turned around and saw the aeroplane with the nose completely smashed and the flames all over the back.
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“That’s when I started to realise this is way bigger than what I felt on the touchdown. I didn’t realise there was another plane involved, I was shocked at that.”
Pic: Alto-maple
But Mr Manzione said the moment he got “most scared” was while waiting on the runway, when one of the engines started to sound like it was going to explode – thankfully it didn’t.
‘Dodged a really big bullet’
Praising the airline crew, Mr Manzione said it was “astonishing” that all the passengers were brought to safety as quickly as they were.
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Japan plane crash: What happened?
“They were amazing, I had to leave my bag behind with passports and everything. But within a few minutes, 370 people got off the plane with only two exits,” he said.
“Me and my family got together last night, and today we realised we probably dodged a really big bullet. This feeling of relief is helping a lot to keep a little bit stable. The emotions yesterday were really overwhelming.”
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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IDF reservists call for end to war in Gaza
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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