Metal Bits from Flying JAL Plane Hit Windows in Southwestern Japan Town

May 27, 2018

Kumamoto- Bits of metal hit windows of a hospital and car in Mashiki, Kumamoto Prefecture, after a Japan Airlines jet flew over the southwestern Japan town on its way back to Kumamoto Airport due to an engine problem on Thursday afternoon, it has been learned.

According to the Kumamoto prefectural police, the hospital reported at around 4 p.m. (7 a.m. GMT) that a window was broken. Officers also saw cracks on the windshield of a vehicle in a parking area and found what are believed to be fallen metal objects in 10 locations within a radius of about 50 meters in the town some 7 kilometers away from the airport.

JAL and other sources said that the Boeing 767 jet left the airport for Tokyo at around 3:40 p.m. Just after the takeoff, the pilot found that the exhaust gas temperature of the left engine was higher than usual.

With the plane, which was carrying 217 passengers and crew members, shaking strongly, the pilot decided to head back to Kumamoto Airport and arrived there at around 4:15 p.m.

The airline and authorities said no one was injured.

The transport ministry's Kumamoto Airport office said that the aircraft had damage to the left engine's turbine blades and other parts, judging this to be a serious incident that could have led to an accident.

The airport was temporarily closed for checks, affecting three flights. Jiji Press