Reconstructing a Plane Crash

Japanese newspaper Nikkei has created a mapped re-enactment of last week's plane collision in Tokyo. On 2 January 2024, Japan Airlines Flight 516 (JAL516) collided with a plane operated by the Japan Coast Guard while JAL516 was landing at Haneda Airport in Japan. As a result of the collision both aircraft caught fire. All 367 passengers and 12 crew on the JAL516 flight survived but tragically five of the six crew on board the Dash 8 died in the crash.

What Happened When the JAL Plane Caught Fire uses Google Earth imagery to create a 3D reconstruction of the crash. This reconstruction is used as part of a story map which attempts to explain the events which led up to the collision. This story map is further illustrated with images and videos taken during and after the collision.

Nikkei's account of the collision also examines the transcripts of the conversations between the pilots and air traffic control and examines the possible sight lines of the pilots of JAL516 and the air traffic control tower.

This isn't the first plane crash which has been virtually reconstructed using Google Earth imagery. Back in 2009 Jeral Poskey created a Google Earth tour that re-enacted Flight 1549's crash into the Hudson River. The re-enactment included sound from eight audio tapes released by the FAA between pilots and controllers. Jeral's tour could be viewed in Google Earth. Unfortunately the kmz file for the tour no longer seems to exist but luckily Jeral did create this video of his re-enactment.

In 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of birds shortly after taking off from LaGuardia airport in New York. The pilots Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles were able to glide the plane to a landing on the Hudson River off Midtown Manhattan. All 155 people on board were saved. The incident was later made into a major motion picture 'Sully: Miracle on the Hudson', starring Tom Hanks as the pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger .

Via: Data Vis Dispatch