Japan Airlines' Airbus A350-900 Catches Fire at Haneda Airport in Tokyo
A Japan Airlines' Airbus A350-900 caught fire at Haneda Airport in Tokyo after colliding with a Dash 8 turboprop of the Japanese Coast Guard that was transporting humanitarian aid for the victims of the earthquake that hit the western coast of the country at the beginning of the new year. Five of the six crew members of the small Coast Guard plane died. Fortunately, the 379 passengers on board the commercial aircraft escaped unharmed from the terrible accident. Experts in air safety have described this incident as 'miraculous'. The causes of the accident that occurred on Tuesday night (local time) are still unclear, but the authorities are conducting an exhaustive investigation. It is known that one of the aircraft's communication systems had no communication with the air traffic control network. Airbus has sent a team of experts to collaborate in the investigation. It should be noted that, as usual in these cases, the preliminary conclusions of the accident will not be available soon, so we will have to be patient to find out more. However, we can focus on the information we have at hand, such as the features of the Airbus A350-900 operated by Japan Airlines. It is one of the most modern and advanced aircraft currently in operation. Let's see what's behind this family of aircraft that began flying in 2015. When we talk about the Airbus A350, we are referring to a relatively new aircraft. Although the European manufacturer had plans to develop an aircraft with these characteristics for some time, the project received its definitive impulse in 2006. After many years of work, the first prototype took off from Toulouse, France, in 2013. A year later, the aircraft received the certifications of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), key elements to start operating. The new family of Airbus made its debut in January 2015 with the deployment of the Qatar Airways A350-900, a variant capable of transporting up to 350 passengers. Since then, both variants have been incorporated by different airlines. Airbus states on its A350 product page that many pilots and airlines have participated in the development of the aircraft. This close collaboration results in a product better oriented towards future owners. In the cabin, six large touch screens are highlighted, designed to improve the operability for pilots. The Airbus A350 is the first commercial aircraft to feature an Automatic Emergency Descent System (AED, by its English initials). In cases of depressurization where the crew becomes unconscious, the system takes charge of automatically descending the aircraft to a safe altitude. It is also worth mentioning that the Airbus A350 is the first aircraft from Airbus built mainly with composite materials. According to the manufacturer, this innovative technology has many advantages. For example, the aircraft is lighter, which translates into lower fuel consumption and greater autonomy. In addition, it is more resistant to fatigue and corrosion. As we can see in the image above, the entire fuselage and the aircraft's coverings are made of carbon fiber. Airbus claims that this innovative technology also comes with benefits in terms of safety. 'Composite materials also provide additional benefits in terms of fire behavior: carbon fiber reinforced polymers (CFRP) are self-extinguishing and more resistant to burns than aluminum', the manufacturer points out. It should be noted that the use of composite materials is not completely new for Airbus. The company has been developing this focus since 1983, with the A310-200, which had a CFRP spoiler. Other models such as the A310 and A320 also used composite materials, but the A350 takes it to the next level.