A passenger plane operated by Japan's All Nippon Airways landed on a runway where a work vehicle was operating at Wakkanai Airport in Hokkaido on Wednesday morning, the transport ministry has said.
The ministry classified the event as a serious incident that could have resulted in an accident. The Japan Transport Safety Board has appointed two aviation accident investigators to begin an investigation into the case.
The plane was ANA Flight 4841, a Bombardier DH8-400 carrying 74 passengers and crew members, bound for Wakkanai Airport in the city of Wakkanai, Hokkaido, from New Chitose Airport near Sapporo. A vehicle used to conduct bird strike countermeasures was retreating from the runway when the plane landed at around 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to the ministry, the passenger plane entered the runway without obtaining the necessary information from air traffic control. According to the airline, a unit of ANA Holdings, the plane changed course before landing after receiving information about cumulonimbus clouds and, as a result, the pilot forgot to communicate with air traffic control.
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