JAL jet landing at Haneda loses nose gear wheels
By KAHO SHIMIZU
Staff writer
The two nose gear wheels on a Japan Airlines Corp. jetliner broke off during landing Wednesday at Tokyo's Haneda airport, the airline said.
All of the passengers were evacuated from the Boeing 767-300 aircraft about an hour after the incident.
A woman who complained of neck pain was diagnosed with whiplash. A man who also complained of neck pain and another woman who complained of nausea left without seeing a doctor, JAL officials said.
"The plane bounced three times upon landing, then suddenly came to halt," one passenger said.
JAL Flight 1002, coming in from Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport, was carrying 210 passengers and 12 crew members. It landed at Haneda at around 10 a.m.
The plane stayed on the runway while airport authorities worked to move it.
The passengers were taken to the arrival lobby by bus.
Another passenger, a woman, said she was unhurt because she had her seat belt fastened as required, but said the cabin was filled with screams at the rough impact.
"When I saw the tires, I was shocked to see how badly they were ripped apart," she added.
The runway, one of the three at Haneda, was closed for five hours. It reopened at 3:16 p.m., according to officials at the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.
The runway closure resulted in 163 departures and 136 arrivals being delayed for 30 minutes or longer as of 7 p.m.. The transport ministry said 17 flights were canceled.
"We deeply apologize for causing a disturbance due to the runway closure," Takao Imai, a senior vice president in charge of JAL's maintenance division, told reporters.
The transport ministry's Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission has launched a probe.
Both tires blew when they and their wheel rims separated from the gear. The left tire was found on the runway and the other on a taxiway. Large scars were found on the left tire, JAL officials said.
The remaining parts of the wheel assembly still attached to the gear were damaged.
JAL later quoted the captain and two copilots of the aircraft as saying there were no problems before the plane touched down.
The pilots said they felt an unusual shock when the nose gear touched the runway, according to the airline.
They also told JAL management that they do not believe they made a hard landing.
Wednesday's weather at Haneda was not adverse, but there was a crosswind, Imai told the news conference.
Industry officials and analysts say it is extremely rare for a wheel to come off.
"A tire puncture is not unusual, but I have hardly ever heard of a case in which both (wheels) came off at the same time," aviation analyst Kazuki Sugiura said, noting the landing gear is designed to make it difficult for a tire to come off.
The transport ministry is taking the incident seriously, especially given the recent rash of JAL safety problems. In April, the ministry said it would subject the airline to special safety inspections through the end of the year.
Information from Kyodo News added
The Japan Times: June 16, 2005
There is an amazing picture of the tireless nose gear with the original article here:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/...20050616a1.htm