90-second drills helped JAL crew lead passengers out of flaming jet

All escaped to safety in 18 minutes, even as five of eight exits were unusable

20240103N JAL evacuation

Passengers flee the burning wreckage of JAL Flight 516 at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Jan. 2. © Kyodo

TOMOYO OGAWA and AYA TAKAHASHI, Nikkei staff writers

TOKYO -- Ninety seconds. That is the amount of time Japan Airlines crew members are given in passenger evacuation training.

The rigorous training paid off for the 12 JAL crew members who led all 367 passengers to safety after Flight 516 collided with a Japan Coast Guard plane at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday.

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