JAL sends apology letter to bereaved family over plan to burn items from 1985 crash

Sunday 01st June, 05:12 PM JST

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10 Comments

himasan at 10:12 PM JST - 1st June

Were they eco letters painted green?
TeruSensei at 11:14 PM JST - 1st June

That was the plane that Sakamoto Kyu was on.
fingerless at 01:39 AM JST - 2nd June

And that was the plane where an American army helicopter was first at the scene and spotted survivors but then was recalled because the Japanese insisted on leading the rescue. However, due to bad weather they couldn't reach the site anymore for days after which all had perished.
medievaltimes at 09:47 AM JST - 2nd June

And that was the plane where an American army helicopter was first at the scene and spotted survivors but then was recalled because the Japanese insisted on leading the rescue. However, due to bad weather they couldn't reach the site anymore for days after which all had perished.

WOW fingerless! Is that really true? If it is, thats amazing.
serendipity628 at 09:58 AM JST - 2nd June

4 people out of the 520 survived.....
Heda_Madness at 10:25 AM JST - 2nd June

Actually the rescuers got to the site the next morning and a Japanese helicopter had already been to the site but due to the bad weather he'd reported that there was no sign of survivors.
taiko666 at 10:31 AM JST - 2nd June

It's true about the US military being first on the scene (within 20mins of the crash) and being told to not to intervene as the SDF were going to handle the rescue. However, the SDF merely made camp 60km or so away and then trudged up the mountain the next morning. By then, all but 4 had died. The survivors remember the sound and lights of the US helicopter and were distraught when they went away.
Alphaape at 10:46 AM JST - 2nd June

I saw a special on this crash on the NGC and their airplane disasters. I believe that the ground rescue teams had made it to the base of the mountain, and the decision was made to not go up immediately, but wait until daylight before going up. The survivors reported of hearing others moaning and waiting for relief efforts, but the rescurers were waiting at the base of the mountain under orders not to go up.

I hate to armchair quarterback this, but I think I would have just went up the mountain anyway. I believe that some of the officals in charge of the rescue efforts were fired (if not they should have been) for their hesitantcy. Having participated in similar events, I know it is probably not wise to send massive amounts of people up the side of a mountain at night, but that is what they make special forces/military for. Sending up trained medics to at least set up a triage or dropping them via rope by helo would probably have done a lot to save a few lives, instead of waiting.
Nessie at 05:11 PM JST - 2nd June

This was covered in the Canadian TV series "Seconds From Disaster", also know as "Air Crash Investigation" and "Mayday." A very fine documentary series.
Nessie at 05:11 PM JST - 2nd June

With fuel surcharges the way they are, I'm surprised JAL hasn't hawked the stuff on e-bay to offset rising jet fuel costs.