ANA Plane Lands on Runway with Vehicle in Operation

   Tokyo, Aug. 22 (Jiji Press)--A passenger plane of Japan's All Nippon Airways landed on a runway where a work vehicle was operating at Wakkanai Airport in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido on Wednesday morning, according to the transport ministry.
   The ministry classified this as a serious incident that could have resulted in an accident. The Japan Transport Safety Board appointed two aviation accident investigators to begin an investigation into the case.
   The plane was ANA Flight 4841, a Bombardier DH8-400 carrying 74 passengers and crew members, bound for Wakkanai Airport in the city of Wakkanai, Hokkaido, from New Chitose Airport near Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. A vehicle for conducting bird strike countermeasures was retreating from the runway when the plane landed at around 11:20 a.m. on Wednesday.
   According to the ministry, the passenger plane entered the runway without obtaining the necessary information from air traffic control. According to the airline, a unit of ANA Holdings Inc., the plane changed course before landing after receiving information about cumulonimbus clouds and as a result, the pilot forgot to communicate with air traffic control.

(2025/08/22-09:34)