‘Simple Act’ Is What Saved Lives Of Passengers Onboard Japan Airlines Flight 516

It is said to be a simple act that saved the lives of passengers of a burning Japan Airlines Flight 516.

So, what was it that saved the passengers? According to the BBC report what passengers onboard the jet did is: they dashed to the emergency exits without their hand luggage, in compliance with the flight crew's instructions.

The simple act of leaving their valuables behind would be a "major factor" behind the speed of the evacuation, with the last person escaping just before the aircraft was engulfed in flames on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday, the report quoting aviation experts stated.

Japan Airlines Flight 516 turned into a fireball after it collided with a coastguard plane as it landed. 

Five of the six people on board the smaller aircraft - which had been due to deliver aid to victims of the powerful New Year's Day earthquake- died.

“But everyone on Flight 516 survived, with the flawless evacuation from the cabin as it filled with smoke astounding the world and winning praise from many,” the report mentioned. 

Aviation experts and industry professionals quoted in the report said it boiled down to staff on board putting their rigorous training into practice and "well-behaved" passengers who obeyed safety protocols.

"I don't see a single passenger on the ground, in any of the videos I've seen, that has got their luggage with them… If people tried to take their cabin luggage, that's really dangerous because they would slow down the evacuation," said Prof Ed Galea, director of the fire safety engineering group at the University of Greenwich in London, was quoted as having said.

To see what happens when passengers try to take their luggage with them, one only has to look back to a crash landing in Dubai in 2016. 

Footage from inside the Emirates Boeing 777 involved shows people panicking as they clamber to grab their possessions, before they fled down emergency slides.

The crew were praised for their efforts to evacuate passengers, and luckily all 300 on board the Dubai flight survived - but the video from inside that aircraft contrasts starkly with the well-drilled scenes witnessed in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Also, the report said the safety training of the crew kicked in which saved the precious lives.

The report quoting a former attendant, said, all new crew members undergo stringent evacuation and rescue training for up to three weeks before they are allowed to serve in commercial flights. 

The training - which extends to how you control the tone and volume of your voice so you can be best heard by passengers - is repeated every year, it mentioned.