Japan Airlines counts losses from wrecked plane

(Reuters) — Japan Airlines said Thursday it expects losses of more than $100 million after one of its planes was destroyed when it collided with another aircraft on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday.

JAL estimated the disaster would result in an operating loss of about 15 billion yen ($105 million).

The loss of the aircraft should be covered by insurance, the company said, adding it was assessing the impact on its earnings forecast for the financial year ending March 31. The airline was discussing compensation individually with passengers, two of whom had pets that died in the incident, JAL officials said.

Insurance industry sources have said U.S. insurer American International Group Inc. was the lead insurer on a $130 million “all-risks” policy for the 2-year-old plane that was destroyed by the fire. AIG declined to comment.

It was the first-ever hull loss globally for the Airbus A350 model, according to Aviation Safety Network. The type, made largely from carbon composite, entered commercial service in 2015.

All 379 people on board the JAL widebody jet escaped before the plane was completely engulfed in flames that took more than six hours to extinguish.

But five of the six crew of the other aircraft — a smaller Coast Guard plane that was in its third mission to deliver aid to quake-hit regions on Japan’s west coast — were killed, with the surviving pilot badly injured.

As investigators combed the charred wreckage Thursday, transport authorities are probing the circumstances that led to the Coast Guard plane entering the runway where the passenger jet was landing. Police are also looking into possible professional negligence in the case, according to media reports.

Transcripts released by authorities show air traffic control ordering the Coast Guard plane to proceed to a holding point near the runway minutes before the crash, instructions the pilot appeared to have read back in acknowledgment.

Japanese authorities said Wednesday the passenger jet had been given permission to land, but the smaller plane had not been cleared for take-off, based on the transcripts.

The Coast Guard pilot said after the crash that he had been given permission to enter the runway, Coast Guard officials have said.