Lights designed to prevent runway incursions were out of service when a Japan Coast Guard plane collided with an arriving Japan Airlines Co. passenger jet at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Jan. 2.
But ministry officials said the lights would not have been turned on even if they had been in service because there was sufficient visibility that day.
Right, because there’s already runway holding position markings that you do not cross without clearance - every pilot from private on up knows about these. The mentioned lights are for low visibility situations which this was not.
Not sure why they even brought it up or reported on it.
I mean, it’s kinda similar to “Streetlights where out of service during road accident”, but it was noon and the lights wouldn’t have been on either way.
Not an excuse for the Coast Guard pilot to ignore the tower.
But it might allow for enough blame-shifting to prevent him from getting capital punishment for killing four of his own and causing millions in damage.
Click bait title:
"Even if stop bar lights had been in service, conditions for using them would not have been met,” the official said.
Stop bar lights were installed at Haneda Airport in 1998. They are used at 13 other airports nationwide.
