Narita International Airport - Notable Accidents and Incidents

Notable Accidents and Incidents

• On January 30, 1979, after an exhibition in Tokyo, 153 of Manabu Mabe's paintings were on board of a Varig cargo Boeing 707-323C registration PP-VLU en route from Narita International Airport to Rio de Janeiro-Galeão via Los Angeles. The aircraft went missing over the Pacific Ocean some 30 minutes (200 km ENE) from Tokyo. Causes are unknown since the wreck was never found. The paintings were lost.
• 1985: On June 22, a piece of luggage exploded while being transferred to Air India Flight 301, killing two baggage handlers. The luggage had originated at Vancouver International Airport. Fifty-five minutes later, another piece of luggage, also originating from Vancouver, exploded on Air India Flight 182, killing all on board.
• In the late 1980s, the Union to Oppose the Airport constructed two steel towers, 30.8 metres (101 ft) and 62.3 metres (204 ft) respectively, blocking the northbound approach path to the main runway. In January 1990, the Chiba District Court ordered the towers dismantled without compensation to the Union; the Supreme Court of Japan upheld this verdict as constitutional in 1993.
• 1987: Chukaku-ha, a radical organization, carried out a simultaneous overnight bombing of the offices of five companies in the Greater Tokyo Area involved in the Phase II expansion of Narita Airport.
• 1994: On December 11, Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was en route from Cebu to Narita when a bomb on board exploded, killing a passenger. The airliner was able to make an emergency landing in Okinawa. Authorities later found out that the bomb was a test run for the Project Bojinka plot, which targeted several U.S. airliners departing Narita on January 21, 1995 as part of its first phase.
• 1997: United Airlines Flight 826 experienced severe turbulence after leaving Narita en-route for Honolulu. Due to injuries sustained by passengers, the aircraft made an emergency landing at Narita. One woman on the flight died of her injuries.
• January 31, 2001: Japan Airlines Flight 958, bound for Narita from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, nearly collided with another Japan Airlines aircraft, due to a mistake by an air traffic controller. The other aircraft, a Boeing 747, dove suddenly and narrowly avoided the Narita-bound DC-10. See: 2001 Japan Airlines mid-air incident
• 2001: In May, Kim Jong-nam, the son of Former North Korean President Kim Jong-il, was arrested at Narita Airport for traveling with a counterfeit passport, and was deported to the People's Republic of China.
• January 27, 2003: All Nippon Airways Flight 908 (operated by Air Japan), an Boeing 767 aircraft from Incheon International Airport, South Korea, overshot on Runway 16L/34R after landing. Was closed for an overnight due to necessary investigations and repairs. This was the first such incident of overrunning at Narita and overnight closed to occur at the airport since its opening in 1978.
• 2004: On July 13, Bobby Fischer was detained at Narita Airport for using an invalid U.S. passport while trying to board a Japan Airlines flight to Manila. He left Japan a year later after obtaining asylum in Iceland.
• 2009: On March 23, FedEx Express Flight 80, an MD-11 aircraft from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China, crashed on Runway 16R/34L during landing, killing both the pilot and co-pilot. Runway 16R/34L, which is required for long-distance flights and heavier aircraft, was closed for a full day due to necessary investigations, repairs and removal of wreckage. This was the first fatal airplane crash to occur at the airport since its opening in 1978.
• 2009-2010: From November 4, 2009 to February 3, 2010, Chinese human rights defendant Feng Zhenghu remained near the immigration checkpoint in the south wing of Terminal 1, after having been refused re-entry into China.