Japan Air Lines Flight 115

Japan Air Lines Flight 115

JA8119, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	June 6, 1978
Summary	Tailstrike due to pilot error
Site	Osaka Int'l Airport, Osaka, Japan
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 747SR-46
Operator	Japan Air Lines
Registration	JA8119
Flight origin	Tokyo Int'l Airport, Tokyo, Japan
Destination	Osaka Int'l Airport, Osaka, Japan
Occupants	394
Passengers	379
Crew	15
Fatalities	0
Injuries	25 (23 minor, 2 serious)
Survivors	394

Japan Air Lines Flight 115 was a domestic flight from Tokyo International Airport to Osaka International Airport, Osaka Prefecture. The plane suffered a tailstrike on landing at Itami, which was incorrectly repaired leading to a catastrophic crash on its next flight 10 days, 2 months and 7 years later.

Tailstrike incident

Video recreating the accident

On June 2, 1978, a Japan Air Lines Boeing 747SR, registered JA8119, operating Flight 115, was performing an ILS approach to runway 32L at Osaka Int'l Airport but experienced a crash on landing. The pilots pulled the nose up, causing the tail to hit the runway. There were no deaths but 25 people were injured (23 minor injuries and 2 serious injuries). The cracked tail of the plane opened the rear pressure bulkhead. The damage was repaired by Boeing technicians and the aircraft was returned to service.

Improper repairs and crash

Correct (top) and incorrect splice plate installations

On 12 August 1985, 7 years after the tailstrike incident, JA8119 was serving Flight 123 on the same Haneda to Itami route. Upon takeoff from Haneda, 12 minutes into the flight (18:24), the tailgate repair failed miserably. The rear bulkhead blew up, the vertical stabilizer ripped off, and all hydraulics went numb, sending the 747 out of control. And 32 minutes later (18:56), the 747 crashed into Mount Takamagahara near Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Tokyo, killing 520 of the 524 people on board. This is the deadliest single plane crash in history.

The crash investigation revealed that the tail section from 1978 had been improperly repaired. The Boeing specification for a damaged bulkhead required one continuous joint plate with 3 rows of studs, but Boeing technicians repaired and replaced two discontinuous joint plates, placed parallel to the joint. JAL's post-repair inspection did not detect the defect as it was covered by overlapping plates.

In an unrelated incident on August 19, 1982, while under the control of the first officer, JA8119 suffered a dangerous landing while landing at Chitose Air Base within range. This was successfully repaired and the aircraft was once again in service. This incident did not contribute to the later crash of Japan Air Lines Flight 123.

See also

• China Airlines Flight 358
• China Airlines Flight 611 - a 2002 aviation accident also caused by faulty repairs to a tailstrike that occurred 22 years prior.
• Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501
• Trans-Air Service Flight 671

External links

• "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747SR-46 JA8119 Osaka-Itami Airport (ITM)". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-03-14.

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