London – On Aug.12, 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123 took off from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, bound for Osaka International Airport. Onboard were a mix of passengers — businessmen, families returning from Tokyo Disneyland and travelers visiting relatives for the Bon festival period.
Twelve minutes into the flight, as the plane reached 7,300 meters (24,000 feet), there was an explosion. A large part of the tail had broken off, severing all four hydraulic lines — which would have affected the plane’s capacity to steer.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.