Why the great escape on Japan Airlines’ A350 was no accident

The evacuation of Japan Airlines flight 516 was hailed as a watershed moment for aircraft design and cabin crew training. With the A350 set to become the backbone of Qantas’ international fleet, Hannah Dowling tells the extraordinary inside story of what happened – and the lessons the global aviation industry must learn from its success.

Ducking beneath the thick, heavy smog now enveloping the darkened cabin, the panicked passengers aboard Flight JL516 made their way towards the front of the aircraft, where illuminated grey evacuation slides awaited them. Through muffled megaphones, the crew reminded them to “please remain calm” and leave their luggage on the smouldering plane. Just minutes earlier, as the plane touched the ground at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport, a loud bang had echoed through the cabin before the aircraft skidded to a halt. As they moved swiftly through the cabin, they glanced at the windows now shrouded in an orange glow caused by the fire that had wrapped itself around one of the plane’s engines, threatening to expand at any moment.