Case Study Analysis: Japan Airlines Flight 123

Case Study Analysis: Japan Airlines Flight 123
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Case Study Analysis: Japan Airlines Flight 123
On the afternoon of August 12, 1985 the Japan airline Boeing 747 was carrying 524 passengers on board mostly families, on holiday. Flight 123 left Haneda airport in Tokyo at 6.00p.m. After thirteen minutes, the aircraft travelled to an attitude of FL240 when an emergency setting appeared at the control tower as a sign of distress. On inquiry, the pilot requested permission to return to Haneda as he was experiencing control problems due to a broken cabin door. The aircraft experienced a sudden vibration on climbing up 23900 feet at a speed of 300knots. The real problem was that the crew could not control the aircraft because of decompression. The bulkhead was cracked, damaging the rear plane (Aviation Safety Network, 2015).
The aircraft took a different direction compared to the earlier requested direction. Contrary to the controllers’ instructions of heading 090 degree to Haneda, the aircraft turned left, rolling down to 6,800 feet (Aviation Safety Network, 2015). It started wandering and the crew reported that it was uncontrollable. Later on, it slowed down to 13,000 feet then turned right, descending finally disappearing from the radar. The aircraft crashed at mount Osutaka after 32minutes.
Initial investigation indicated that the mistake occurred during repairs because the engineer did not correct the riveted joint properly. Instead of using one single plate, the engineer inserted two splice plates causing air transmission to occur through the center rivet only. This process resulted to an overload causing fatigue and cracks from rivet holes at the center. The cracks further spread through a repeated process of pressure causing fractures. The maintenance records provided further insight of how the aircraft had history of tail strike during takeoff, seven years back. The rear bulkhead that contains the controlling system and the box beam structure located vertically to the fin were damaged due to the huge amoun...