Explained | How flawless evacuation helped passengers escape death in Japan jet fireball

To all those who watched a Japan Airlines plane turn into a fireball within minutes at Tokyo's Haneda airport, it appeared extremely miraculous to believe that all on board emerged unhurt and alive. Even though, tragically, five out of six crew members on the Japan Coast Guard Dash 8 plane with which the flight had collided while landing on Tuesday (Jan 2) died, all the 379 passengers as well as crew members on board the Airbus A350 were able to survive.

Even as investigations are being carried out into how the JAL plane erupted into a fireball, experts said that the flawless evacuation was a combination of the rigorous safety culture of Japan Airlines and modern safety standards.

How didpassengers have a safe evacuation?

In compliance with the instructions of the flight crew, the passengers dashed towards the emergency exits of the burning jet of Japan Airlines jet, while leaving their hand luggage behind.

When the incident took place, only three inflatable slides were used for evacuating the passengers, however, they were not deployed properly because of how the plane landed. The slide was very steep which may have been dangerous.

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The announcement system of the aircraft also malfunctioned amid the evacuation so the crew members were forced to convey instructions by shouting and using a megaphone, said Japan Airlines.

What was the key aspect of evacuation?

As per the aviation experts, the simple step of leaving their valuables behind becomes a "major factor" which accelerates the speed of the evacuation. This was one such historic evacuation where the step proved very fruitful as the last person escaped moments before the entire aircraft was engulfed in flames on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday (Jan 2).

Speaking to the BBC, the industry professionals and aviation experts said that this was the result of the rigorous training that the staff had undergone as well as "well-behaved" passengers who actually followed the protocols.

Director of the fire safety engineering group at the University of Greenwich in London Prof Ed Galea said, "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.”

How much time should the crew take to evacuate in such situations?

Speaking to NBC News, aviation expert John Cox said that the Japan Airlines flight was an Airbus A350 which had a capacity of 380 passengers. He stated that in an emergency situation like this, "you want to get them out within 90 seconds."

Cox appreciated how the crew made it possible to get everybody off the plane at the right time and also praised the passengers who actually followed their instructions.

Watch:Japan: Probe underway in Japan plane collision; 5 killed in Coast Guard aircraft

"This is the way you do it. You follow the instructions, go to the exit you get on the slide and you get away from the aircraft and that’s what happened here. And that’s why it was so successful,” he said.

What kind of training is provided to crew members?

A former attendant Japan Airlines flight, while speaking to the BBC, said the fact that passengers landed safely at Haneda airport was "incredibly fortunate". The airline had stated that in the end only one passengerhad sustained bruises, while 13 others had requested medical consultations because of physical discomfort.

"I felt relieved to find out that all the passengers were safe. But when I started thinking about the emergency evacuation procedure, I suddenly felt nervous and fearful. Depending on how the two planes collided and how the fire spread, it could have been a lot worse,” said the former flight attendant said.

As per the former attendant, all new crew members go through stringent evacuation and rescue training for nearly three weeks before they are permitted to serve on commercial flights. The training – which also teaches how to control the tone and volume of the voice so that the passengers can clearly hear you – is also repeated every year.

"We go through a written exam, case study discussions and practical training using different scenarios, such as when the plane has to make a water landing or if there is fire on board. Maintenance staff are also involved in such training," added the former flight attendant, who worked for the airline 10 years ago.

Also, all aircraft manufacturers need to prove that everyone aboard is able to evacuate the plane within 90 seconds from the planes so as to get internationally recognised.

(With inputs from agencies)