airline safety

Japan Airlines safety record

No one on board has died in a JAL accident since 1985 — more than forty years. In the 2024 Haneda runway collision, all 379 people on the JAL aircraft got out; five crew on the Coast Guard aircraft were killed. On airlines like Japan Airlines, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight.

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No one on board has died in an accident since 1985
Chance of dying in an accident, per flight1 in 80 million

For airlines based in Japan and the other countries in the same safety group, 2018–2022 (MIT study).

Put another way: if you took a flight every single day, you would, on average, fly for about 219,000 years before a fatal accident happened to you.

the record

No one on board has died in a JAL accident since 1985

Japan Airlines' record includes the deadliest single-aircraft accident in history: flight 123 in August 1985, a 747 that crashed into the mountains of Gunma, killing 520 of the 524 on board. Japan's accident commission found the rear pressure bulkhead failed where Boeing had repaired it incorrectly after a 1978 tail strike, and the failure destroyed the tail fin and all four hydraulic systems.

Its other fatal accidents since 1970 came in the 1970s and early 1980s, among them near Delhi and at Moscow in 1972, near Kuala Lumpur in 1977 and in Tokyo Bay in 1982. In 1997 abrupt pitch oscillations on flight 706 seriously injured several people; a flight attendant died of her injuries about 20 months later. Under the international rule, which counts only deaths within 30 days of an accident, that is recorded as a serious injury rather than a fatal accident.

On 2 January 2024 flight 516, an A350 landing at Tokyo Haneda, collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft on the runway. All 379 people on the JAL aircraft got out while it burned; five of the six Coast Guard crew were killed. The investigation is still open; interim findings say the Coast Guard aircraft entered the runway believing it had clearance.

since 1970

Every fatal accident, on one line

Solid dots are its own flights; hollow ones were flown by a partner or subsidiary under its name; grey rings are hijackings and attacks. Deaths that investigators don't class as accidents (such as trespassers) aren't shown.

197019801990200020102020
Its own flights Hijackings and attacks
  1. Jan 2024 JL516 · Airbus A350-900 · Tokyo Haneda AirportCollided on landing with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft on the runway; all 379 on the JAL aircraft got out, five of the six Coast Guard crew were killed. Under investigation; interim findings say the Coast Guard aircraft entered the runway believing it had clearance.
  2. Jun 1997 JL706 · McDonnell Douglas MD-11 · Over the Shima PeninsulaAbrupt pitch oscillations in descent seriously injured several people; a flight attendant died of her injuries about 20 months later. Under the international (ICAO) rule, which counts only deaths within 30 days, it is recorded as a serious injury.
  3. Aug 1985 JL123 · Boeing 747SR · Mount Takamagahara, GunmaJapan's accident commission found the rear pressure bulkhead failed where it had been repaired incorrectly by Boeing after a 1978 tail strike, destroying the fin and all four hydraulic systems.
  4. Feb 1982 JL350 · Douglas DC-8 · Tokyo Bay, short of HanedaThe captain, later found not criminally responsible because of mental illness, put engines into reverse on the approach.
  5. Sep 1977 JL715 · Douglas DC-8 · Near Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaHit a hill on approach in a thunderstorm; the official finding was that the captain descended below the minimum descent altitude without the runway in sight, and the co-pilot did not challenge him.
  6. Jan 1977 JL1045 (cargo) · Douglas DC-8 freighter · Anchorage, AlaskaThe NTSB found a stall from the captain's control inputs, made worse by icing; the captain was under the influence of alcohol.
  7. Jul 1973 JL404 · Boeing 747 · Hijacked; destroyed at Benghazi, LibyaHijacked; one hijacker was killed by her own explosive. Passengers and crew were released and the hijackers destroyed the aircraft.
  8. Nov 1972 JL446 · Douglas DC-8 · Moscow SheremetyevoThe Soviet investigation found the aircraft reached a dangerously high angle of attack, from spoiler extension or loss of control after an engine failure.
  9. Jun 1972 JL471 · Douglas DC-8 · Near Delhi, IndiaInvestigators disagreed: India's blamed the crew for not following procedures; Japan pointed to a false glide-path signal. (Deaths on the ground: 4 per the accident database; other sources give 3.)
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at a glance

Japan Airlines in numbers

Founded
1951
Country
Japan
Alliance
Oneworld
Main hubs
Tokyo Haneda · Tokyo Narita
IATA safety audit (IOSA)
Registered
the fleet

What Japan Airlines flies

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Japan Airlines safety questions

How safe is Japan Airlines?

No one on board has died in a JAL accident since 1985 — more than forty years. In the 2024 Haneda runway collision, all 379 people on the JAL aircraft got out; five crew on the Coast Guard aircraft were killed. On airlines like Japan Airlines, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight. Every fact on this page is sourced — the list is at the bottom.

What is Japan Airlines' safety rating?

There is no single official safety rating for airlines; the scores some websites publish are their own formulas. What can be checked is the record: no death on board in a JAL accident since 1985, with the events before and since set out on this page. It is a member of IATA, the airlines' trade body, which requires its members to pass IATA's operational safety audit (IOSA).

What happened at Haneda in January 2024?

JAL flight 516, an A350 landing at Tokyo Haneda, collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft on the runway. All 379 people on the JAL aircraft got out while it burned; five of the six Coast Guard crew were killed. Interim findings say the Coast Guard aircraft entered the runway believing it had clearance; the final report is still to come.

sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page comes from official accident reports, the airline's own figures or the published accident record.

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