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

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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”