A potentially serious incident was averted at Shin Chitose Airport in Japan on Wednesday when an All Nippon Airways (ANA) plane began spraying oil while landing. Despite the alarming sight of smoke billowing from beneath the aircraft, all passengers and crew members onboard escaped unharmed, according to officials.
ANA officials indicated that the oil leakage came from a nonflammable control system and evaporated upon contact with the hot engine, leading to visible smoke. Although the smoke triggered a cockpit warning, prompting immediate safety checks, the airline assured passengers that the leak did not present an immediate safety risk.
Flight 71, which originated from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, carried 204 passengers and nine crew members. After landing safely, the plane was towed to the arrival terminal, where all onboard disembarked without incident. However, the smoke and oil leakage necessitated an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.
A video circulated on social media showed smoke rising from beneath the aircraft as it landed, raising concerns among viewers. Emergency response teams, including the Chitose city fire department, quickly dispatched multiple fire engines to the scene. One of the airport’s runways was temporarily closed to facilitate the clean-up of the leaked oil.
This incident follows a series of notable accidents involving Japanese air carriers in recent months. In January, a collision at Haneda Airport between a Japan Airlines flight and a coast guard plane resulted in a fire that claimed five lives. Fortunately, passengers and crew members from the Japan Airlines flight evacuated safely, but the coast guard pilot was injured, and five crew members lost their lives.
Additionally, in the same month, a Korean Air plane collided with a parked Cathay Pacific aircraft due to a ground vehicle slipping on snow, leading to significant damage but no reported injuries.
The recent incidents have prompted increased scrutiny on aircraft safety in Japan, with authorities urging airlines and airport operators to take additional precautions to ensure the safety of passengers and crew.
