Families Remember Japan’s Deadliest Plane Crash 40 Years On

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

On August 12, 2025, family members of those who died in the world’s deadliest single-aircraft accident gathered in Japan to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. They hiked together to the crash site on Osutaka Mountain Ridge, where Japan Airlines Flight 123 came down in 1985, killing 520 people.

The Boeing 747 had been flying from Tokyo to Osaka when it crashed about 120 kilometers northwest of Tokyo, just 40 minutes into the flight. Hundreds of people, including relatives and friends of the victims, climbed the mountain to visit the cenotaph built to honor those who lost their lives.

One woman, who lost her younger brother in the crash, shared her feelings with Fuji TV: “I want to tell him that all of his family members are alive, carrying his spirit with us. We are doing our best to live our lives.”

In the evening, a quiet ceremony was held at the foot of the mountain where people offered white chrysanthemums and lit candles in memory of the victims. Gunma Governor Ichita Yamamoto said, “It is our responsibility to make sure this tragic event is never forgotten and that its lessons are passed on to future generations.”

The crash happened when the plane lost control shortly after takeoff. A loud noise was heard about 10 minutes into the flight, followed by an emergency call. The plane then shook violently before crashing. Most of the passengers were holiday travelers returning home during Japan’s Obon festival.

Out of the 520 people on board—505 passengers and 15 crew members—only four survived. An investigation later revealed that faulty repairs done by Boeing engineers years earlier had caused critical damage to the plane’s rear bulkhead, leading to the accident.

While this remains Japan’s worst air disaster, it is the second deadliest single-aircraft accident worldwide. The deadliest was a 1977 collision of two planes in the Canary Islands, which killed 583 people.

Japan has since faced other aviation scares. In January 2024, a Japan Airlines Airbus nearly collided with a coast guard plane at Haneda Airport. Thankfully, all 379 passengers on the JAL flight escaped safely, but sadly five of the six people on the smaller aircraft died.