Japan Airlines accidents and incidents

This article lists Japan Airlines incidents and accidents. (Bold dates - fatal accidents)

1950s

* On 9 April 1952, ''Mokusei'', Flight 301, a Martin 2-0-2 (N90943) leased from Northwest Orient Airlines, struck Mount Mihara while operating the first leg of a Tokyo-Osaka-Fukuoka service. The crash killed all 37 occupants on board the aircraft, including 4 crew members and 33 passengers. Because the aircraft did not have a CVR nor an FDR, the cause was never determined.
* On 30 September 1957, ''Unzen'', Flight 108, a Douglas DC-4-1009 (JA6011), suffered failure of all four engines after takeoff from Osaka Air Base, at an altitude of . The aircraft force-landed in a rice field; all 57 on board were able to escape before the aircraft burned out. The cause was a malfunctioning cross-feed fuel valve.

1960s

* On 25 April 1961, ''Hakone'', a Japan Air Lines Douglas DC-8-32 from San Francisco to Tokyo, touched down and ran off the end of the wet runway at Tokyo International Airport. The aircraft stopped after the main gear entered a ditch wide and deep, located beyond the end of the runway. The aircraft was shipped back and repaired by Douglas Aircraft Company at Long Beach, CA, United States, and returned to service as a Series 53 with a new registration (JA8008) in early 1963 and was renamed ''Matsushima''.
* On 10 April 1962, ''Haruna'', a Japan Air Lines Douglas C-54 from Fukuoka to Tokyo, made a wheels-up landing at Osaka. There were no casualties, however, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and was written off.
* On 27 February 1965, ''Kaede'', a Japan Air Lines Convair 880 was performing a low pass training near Iki Airport when, at , descended fast and struck the runway. The aircraft slid and caught fire.
* On 25 December 1965, ''Kamakura'', Japan Air Lines Flight 813 operated by a Douglas DC-8 took off from San Francisco International Airport at 13:08 and suffered an uncontained engine failure on number one engine while climbing through . A fire erupted in the area of the number one engine, but was quickly extinguished. The aircraft made a safe emergency landing at Oakland International Airport, CA. The probable cause was "a disintegrating engine failure and in-flight fire caused by the failure of maintenance personnel to properly secure the low pressure compressor section torque ring during engine overhaul".
* On 26 August 1966, ''Ginza'', a Japan Air Lines Convair 880 (leased from Japan Domestic Airlines) yawed left for unknown reasons after the nose lifted up during a training flight at Haneda Airport. Some into takeoff, the number one engine struck the runway. The aircraft left the runway and the nose pitched down again. All four engines separated as well as the nose and left landing gear; the aircraft caught fire and burned out. All five crew died.
* On 5 October 1967, a Japan Air Lines Beechcraft H18 (JA5137) crashed in a field at Murayama following engine failure while completing a training flight out of Yamagata Airport; all four crew survived.
* On 22 November 1968, ''Shiga'', Japan Air Lines Flight 2 operated by a Douglas DC-8 accidentally landed in San Francisco Bay approx. short of San Francisco International Airport. The aircraft was recovered after being in the water for 55 hours. There were no injuries to the crew or to any passengers. The probable cause was "the improper application of the prescribed procedures to execute an automatic-coupled ILS approach. This deviation from the prescribed procedures was, in part, due to a lack of familiarization and infrequent operation of the installed flight director and autopilot system". The aircraft was repaired by United Airlines at San Francisco International Airport and returned to JAL in March 1969. Pilot Kohhei Asoh said that he mistakenly believed that he was landing on the runway when in fact the plane hit the water several hundred yards away.
* On 24 June 1969, ''Kikyo'', Japan Air Lines Flight 90 operated by a Convair 880 was taking off from runway 32R at Moses Lake Grant County International Airport. The power was reduced on the number four engine during take-off, however, the aircraft continued to yaw to the right until the number four engine struck and slid off the runway. It burst into flames, killing three of the five crew members on board. The probable cause was a "delayed corrective action during a simulated critical-engine-out takeoff maneuver resulting in an excessive sideslip from which full recovery could not be effected".

1970s

1970-1974

*In 1970, a teenage boy, Keith Sapsford, climbed into the cargo area of a Sydney to Tokyo flight. As the plane was taking off, he fell to his death. Unknowingly, a photographer had photographed the event.
* On 31 March 1970, ''Yodo'', Japan Air Lines Flight 351 operated by a Boeing 727 was hijacked by the Japanese Red Army (JRA) while en route from Tokyo to Fukuoka. The nine hijackers released all 122 passengers and seven crew members at Fukuoka Airport and Seoul's Gimpo International Airport, before proceeding to Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, where they surrendered themselves to the North Korean authority.
* On 14 June 1972, ''Akan'', Japan Air Lines Flight 471 operated by a Douglas DC-8 struck the banks of River Yamuna, about east of New Delhi's Palam International Airport. The crash killed 10 out of 11 crew members, 72 out of 76 passengers on board and 3 people on the ground died, including a famous Brazilian actress Leila Diniz at age 27. With 16 of the dead were Americans. Japanese investigators claimed a false glide path signal was responsible for the descent into terrain, while Indian investigators claimed it was caused by the JAL crew's disregard of laid down procedures and the abandonment of all instrument indications without properly ensuring sighting of the runway.
* On 24 September 1972, ''Haruna'', Japan Air Lines Flight 472 operated by a Douglas DC-8 en route to Bombay landed at Juhu Airport runway 08, instead of Bombay Airport runway 09. The aircraft overran the runway through a ditch. The visibility at the time was , decreasing to . There were no injuries reported, but the aircraft was written off.
* On 6 November 1972, a Japan Air Lines Boeing 727 was hijacked at Tokyo International Airport, the hijacker demanded money and to be taken to Cuba. The aircraft was stormed and the hijacker was arrested.
* On 28 November 1972, ''Hida'', Japan Air Lines Flight 446 operated by a Douglas DC-8 from Tokyo to Moscow, climbed to with a supercritical angle of attack. The aircraft lost height, hit the ground and burst into flames. Nine of the 14 crew members and 52 of the 62 passengers died in the accident. The probable cause was "the supercritical angle of attack was caused by either an inadvertent spoiler-extension in flight, or a loss of control following a number one or two engine failure (due to icing)".
* On 20 July 1973, Japan Air Lines Flight 404 operated by a Boeing 747-200B was hijacked by 4 men and a woman, shortly after leaving Amsterdam. An accidental explosion of the explosive device the woman hijacker was carrying occurred and she was killed. The aircraft was destined for Anchorage but was landed at Dubai and later took off for Damascus and Benghazi. Eventually, all the passengers and crew members were released and the aircraft was blown up on 23 July.
* On 12 March 1974, a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 was hijacked at Naha Airport

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