Prince Andrew, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Stephen Hawking are among those named in court documents relating to Ghislaine Maxwell, her relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and alleged victims of sexual abuse.
The newly unsealed court documents name dozens of Epstein's associates, although many of them are not accused of any wrongdoing.
It comes after a US judge, Loretta Preska, ruled in December documents that were part of a 2015 defamation case by Virginia Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwellshould be made public.
Judge Preska ordered some individuals should be named because they had already given interviews to the media.
The first documents of around 250 are expected to eventually be unsealed - and largely mention figures whose names were already known, including high-profile friends of Epstein's and victims who have spoken publicly.
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Who is Ghislaine Maxwell?
In one document, a woman named Johanna Sjoberg - while giving testimony in May 2016 - claimed the Duke of York touched her breast while sitting on a couch inside the US billionaire's Manhattan apartment in 2001.
Buckingham Palace has previously said the allegations are "categorically untrue".
At the time, Ms Sjoberg testified that Maxwell called her to an upstairs closet where they pulled out a puppet of Prince Andrew that had been made for a BBC programme.
"It looked like him," Sjoberg said. "And she brought it down and presented it to him; and that was a great joke, because apparently it was a production from a show on BBC."
"And they decided to take a picture with it, in which Virginia and Andrew sat on a couch.
"They put the puppet on Virginia's lap, and I sat on Andrew's lap, and they put the puppet's hand on Virginia's breast, and Andrew put his hand on my breast, and they took a photo."
Image:Johanna Sjoberg. Pic: ANL/Shutterstock
In the documents released, Ms Sjoberg said that while flying to Manhattan with Epstein, Maxwell, Ms Giuffre and Prince Andrew, the financier's jet was diverted to Atlantic City, New Jersey - where Epstein suggested going to one of Donald Trump's casinos.
"The pilot's told me to go back and tell [Epstein] that we can't land in New York and that we were going to have to land in Atlantic City," she said.
"Jeffrey said, Great, we'll call up Trump and we'll go to - I don't recall the name of the casino, but - we'll go to the casino."
Later, when questioned on if she had to give Mr Trump a massage, Ms Sjoberg said she was never asked to.
In Ms Sjoberg's interview under oath, she also described conversations with Epstein in which he claimed former US president Bill Clinton "likes them young, referring to girls".
ABC News previously reported that Mr Clinton is named as "Doe 36" and mentioned in more than 50 of the documents.
In a statement released in 2019, a spokesperson for the former president said he had "not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade" and "knows nothing about the terrible crimes".
There is no indication of any wrongdoing by Mr Clinton.
Ghislaine Maxwell confirmed in other documents released that Mr Clinton had travelled on board Epstein's private jet. She did not know how many times.
Epstein: 'Issue a reward to... prove her allegations false'
Other papers unsealed included an email from Epstein to Maxwell, where he proposed for her to "issue a reward" to any of Ms Giuffre's friends who could dispute her allegations shortly after she filed a civil claim in the US in 2015.
The email read: "You can issue a reward to any of Virginia's friends, acquaints, family that come forward and help prove her allegations are false."
He goes on to outline the allegations he is trying to show are untrue.
"The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy."
Mr Hawking was photographed on Epstein's island in March 2006, as part of a trip to a science conference on neighbouring island St Thomas.
The conference was paid for by Epstein and saw 20 other scientists attend.
A spokesperson for Mr Clinton has in the past denied that he had ever "been to Little St James Island, Epstein's ranch in New Mexico or his residence in Florida".
The names of more than 150 people mentioned in Ms Giuffre's defamation case are in the process of being released under Judge Preska's ruling.
In a deposition, Ms Giuffre said she had sex with several politicians and financial leaders.
Her formal written evidence named several prominent figures who have previously denied her allegations, including hedge fund owner Glenn Dubin, billionaire US businessman Tom Pritzker and the late New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson.
A spokesperson for Mr Pritzker said the businessman "continues to vehemently deny" the allegation.
Analysis: Epstein court documents reveal how at ease sex offender was with high-powered associates
Jeffrey Epstein cultivated a network of accomplices and associates over a period of decades and as the wheels of justice turn, that web is becoming clearer.
These newly unsealed court documents name dozens of his associates, although many of them are not accused of any wrongdoing.
Michael Jackson, for instance, is named by one victim as having been seen at Epstein's mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, but there is no suggestion that he was there for nefarious reasons.
Donald Trump - whose association with Epstein has been reported previously - is also referred to on occasion in the documents, but is not accused of anything untoward.
There was a frenzied anticipation about the names of Epstein associates - previously John and Jane Does - being unredacted.
Far-right conspiracy theorists see Epstein as the key to proving that elite Democrats comprise a secret paedophile cabal. But anyone hoping, or expecting, a list of celebrity paedophiles will have been sorely disappointed.
Many of the names were already known because of years of reporting on Epstein's crimes and other court cases, both criminal and civil.
Where Epstein's story is retold, Prince Andrew is never far away.
This was the first time a deposition by Johanna Sjoberg had been made public, although the allegation that he groped her while playing with a Spitting Image puppet of himself, was already known. The prince previously denied the claims.
What is clear from these documents is how at ease Epstein was with an array of politicians, celebrities and royalty, all the while becoming one of the most notorious paedophiles in US legal history.
For those individuals, even if they are not explicitly accused of any wrongdoing, any reminder of their link to him is cause to squirm.
The UN and France have called for restraint as fears of further escalation of the Israel-Gaza war around the region rise in the wake of the strike on a Hamas leader in Lebanon late on Tuesday.
Saleh al-Arouri, a senior official in Hamas’s politburo, was killed along with six others in the attack on the outskirts of Beirut. Israel has not taken responsibility, but concern was rising on Wednesday that the conflicts that its war with Hamas have sparked across the region could expand further.
Amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, and the support being offered by allies led by the US, violence has been on the rise in the occupied West Bank, on the Lebanon border, in Iraq and Syria, and in the Red Sea. There is now worry that the Beirut strike threatens to provoke a full war between Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, and Israel.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said any potential escalation could have devastating consequences for people on both sides of the Blue Line – the demarcation line dividing Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights.
“We continue to implore all parties to cease their fire, and any interlocutors with influence to urge restraint,” Kandice Ardiel added.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a call with Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz, urged Israel to “avoid any escalatory attitude, particularly in Lebanon”.
Despite the pleas from the West, the hit has also set off a new round of tough rhetoric across the region.
Israeli officials have reportedly been ordered not to discuss the killing of al-Arouri. But an Israeli military spokesman said “we are on high readiness for any scenario”.
Al Jazeera’s Laura Khan, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said the assassination is a major topic of discussion among the Israeli public.
“Everyone is talking about it, and it has been splashed across the headlines of newspapers,” which are using words like “eliminated” to describe his killing, she said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Arouri’s killing would “ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and the motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers”.
Hamas politburo member Husam Badran said in a eulogy for al-Arouri: “We say to the criminal occupation that the battle between us is open.”
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said the Palestinian group was “more powerful and determined” following the attack. “They left behind them strong men who will carry the banner after them.”
Regional war
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday warned that the Israeli strike was an attempt to pull his country into the war.
“The explosion is an Israeli crime that clearly aims to bring Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations after the ongoing daily attacks in the south,” Mikati said.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading low-level blows across the Lebanon border since the war in Gaza exploded, but the strike on al-Arouri threatens to push the pair into an all-out war.
Acting Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told the BBC that his government was speaking to Hezbollah to try to “convince” the movement not to react to the assassination.
“We are very concerned, [the] Lebanese do not want to be drawn into it; even Hezbollah does not want to be drawn into a regional war,” he was quoted as saying.
Palestinians take part in a protest against the killing of senior Hamas official, Saleh al-Arouri, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, January 2,2024. [Mohammed Torokman/Reuters]
Hezbollah called the strike “a serious attack on Lebanon, its people, its security, sovereignty and resistance”.
“We affirm that this crime will never pass without response and punishment,” it said.
Much will now depend on the reaction of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was due to make a speech in Beirut on Wednesday afternoon.
Previously he has warned Israel against carrying out assassinations on Lebanese soil, vowing a “severe reaction”.
Meanwhile, there is also concern that the strike could disrupt stuttering talks on a ceasefire plan put forward by Egypt.
Hamas officials said that al-Arouri was “at the heart of the negotiations” conducted by Qatar and Egypt.
An Israeli delegation was in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the proposal, AP reported, quoting an unnamed Egyptian official. The killing of al-Arouri is likely to hamper the negotiations for a couple of days, the official added.
A victory Israel cannot guarantee
Unrest has also been stirred on the streets of the occupied West Bank.
Hundreds of Palestinians protested on Tuesday to condemn al-Arouri’s killing. A general strike was announced for Wednesday, and many shops and businesses remained closed across the territory.
“We’ve heard a lot of calls for revenge. And we’ve seen calls for a general strike … where Palestinians have said all schools and public institutions will be closed to mourn al-Arouri’s death,” Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim reported from the city of Arura.
Ibrahim said people believe that Israel assassinated al-Arouri “to show its people a victory which it cannot guarantee in the besieged Gaza Strip”.
Israel has insisted the assassination of a Hamas leader in Beirut was not an attack on Lebanon, as its enemies warned of "punishment" for his death.
Israel has neither confirmed nor denied that it killed Saleh al-Arouri, but a spokesman called it a "surgical strike against the Hamas leadership".
Hamas denounced it as a "terrorist act", while its ally Hezbollah said it was an assault on Lebanese sovereignty.
Lebanon's PM accused Israel of trying to "drag" it into a regional war.
Lebanese media report that Arouri, a deputy political leader of Hamas, was killed in a drone strike in southern Beirut on Tuesday along with six others - two Hamas military commanders and four other members.
He was a key figure in the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas's armed wing, and a close ally of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader. He had been in Lebanon acting as a connection between his group and Hezbollah.
There have been near daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but so far the violence has been limited to the area along the Israel-Lebanon border.
Hezbollah - which, like Hamas, is considered a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and others - is the largest political and military force in Lebanon and has ministers in the country's government.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) refused to comment on the assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, but said its troops were "highly prepared for any scenario".
"The IDF is in a very high state of readiness in all arenas, in defence and offence," spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari told a briefing.
"The most important thing to say tonight is that we are focused and remain focused on fighting Hamas," he added.
Israeli government adviser Mark Regev also stopped short of confirming Israel had carried out the attack, but he told MSNBC: "Whoever did it, it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state.
"It was not an attack even on Hezbollah, the terrorist organisation.
"Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership. Whoever did this has a gripe with Hamas. That is very clear."
AFP
AFP
Arouri, 57, is the most senior Hamas figure to be killed since Israel went to war with the group after its 7 October attack.
On that day, waves of Hamas gunmen invaded Israel and attacked communities around the border, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 to Gaza as hostages.
Israel launched a military offensive in response, with the declared aim of destroying Hamas.
Since then, more than 22,000 Palestinians - mostly women and children - have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
Lebanon's state news agency said Arouri had been killed by an Israeli drone attack on a Hamas office in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.
A witness from Reuters news agency saw firefighters and paramedics gathered around a high-rise building where there was a large hole in what appeared to be the third floor.
Video footage on social media showed a car in flames and extensive damage to buildings in what is a busy residential area.
Dahiyeh is known as a stronghold of Hezbollah.
Mr Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas's political bureau, called the attack a "cowardly... terrorist act, a violation of Lebanon's sovereignty, and an expansion of its circle of aggression".
Hezbollah said that it considered Arouri's death "to be a serious assault on Lebanon, its people, its security, sovereignty, and resistance, and the highly symbolic and significant political and security messages it contains".
It said the attack was "a dangerous development in the course of the war... and we in Hezbollah affirm that this crime will never pass without response and punishment".
"Its hand is on the trigger, and its resistors are in the highest levels of readiness and preparedness," it added.
Iran, a major supporter of both groups, said Arouri's killing would "undoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance".
An Israeli security cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening to discuss the post-war plan for Gaza was cancelled.
The Lebanese Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, told BBC Radio 4 his government was talking to Hezbollah to "impress on them that they should not respond themselves" but that: "We don't tell them, we dialogue with them in this regard."
Over the next 24 hours it will become clear "whether they respond or not", he said, adding: "We are very concerned, [the] Lebanese don't want to be dragged, even Hezbollah does not want to be dragged into a regional war."
And he called on the West to "pressure Israel to stop also all its violence and all of its actions, not only on Lebanon, not only on Beirut, but also in Gaza".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has previously vowed to eliminate Hamas's leaders, wherever they are.
Arouri was also considered the de facto leader of Hamas's military wing in the West Bank, overseeing attacks there, according to Israeli media reports.
He is believed to have been involved in the kidnapping and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank in 2014, reports say, and had served time in Israeli jails for other attacks.
The Times of Israel says he was also one of the Hamas officials most closely connected to Iran and Hezbollah.
A passenger jet that collided with a coastguard plane in a catastrophic accident at Haneda airport in Tokyo had been given permission to land, Japan Airlines executives have said, as police reportedly prepared to investigate whether the crash involved professional negligence.
Five people on the aircraft died but all 379 passengers and crew escaped to safety down emergency slides minutes before the Japan Airlines Airbus was engulfed in flames on Tuesday.
Japan’s public broadcaster, NHK, said it had learned of discrepancies between accounts of the accident given by air traffic control and the captain of the coastguard plane. The former had cleared the JAL jetliner to land on runway C at Haneda and told the smaller aircraft to stop short of the same runway, NHK said, citing an unnamed transport ministry source.
A coastguard source, however, told the broadcaster its pilot had been cleared for takeoff.
Asked at a briefing late on Tuesday whether the flight had secured landing permission from air traffic control, officials at the carrier said: “Our understanding is that it was given.”
But JAL and the transport ministry declined to comment directly on exchanges between flight controllers and the two planes, citing the ongoing investigation.
In a recording from Haneda’s control tower apparently taken in the moments before the collision, available on a site that broadcasts live air traffic signals, a voice can be heard advising JAL’s flight to “continue approach”.
Authorities began inspecting the charred wreckage and runway for clues as Haneda reopened three of its four runways on Wednesday. On the closed runway, the burnt-out husk of the airliner bore witness to just how close the plane came to disaster.
The captain of the coastguard plane – which had been carrying aid to the region affected by the powerful earthquake on New Year’s Day – was its lone survivor but sustained serious injuries. Five others on the plane died.
Footage on Tuesday showed a ball of fire erupting and thick black smoke coming from underneath the airliner shortly after it landed and came to a halt on its nose after its front landing gear failed.
Passengers could be seen sliding down inflatable slides as flames shot out from the rear of the aircraft in video posted on X. Aviation experts have praised the crew, saying their actions helped avert a far worse outcome.
As the plane was evacuated, dozens of fire engines tried to douse the flames but it was soon engulfed and it took eight hours to extinguish the blaze.
“As soon as we landed, there was a bang. And I noticed a blaze rising from the right side,” a passenger told NHK. “It was getting hot inside the plane, and, to be honest, I thought I wouldn’t survive.”
A woman with a small child said: “I thought we landed normally. But then I realised I was smelling smoke. I looked outside and it was already burning. I needed to protect my daughter. That was only thing on my mind.”
Government officials said there would be an investigation into the incident. Before Tuesday, Japan had not experienced a serious commercial aviation accident for decades. The crash came weeks after the global airline industry was given new warnings about runway safety.
Local media reports said police would conduct an investigation into whether possible professional negligence had led to deaths and injuries. A police spokesperson said a special investigation unit had been set up at the airport but declined to comment on whether it was looking into possible professional negligence.
Hiroyuki Kobayashi, a former JAL pilot and aviation analyst, said: “There’s a strong possibility this involved human error,. Only one plane is generally allowed to enter the runway but even though landing clearance had been given, the Japan coastguard aircraft was on the runway.”
Airbus, the French company that manufactured the JAL plane, said it would send a team of specialists to help Japanese authorities investigate. Investigators from Britain, where its two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines were manufactured, were due to join them.
Some domestic flights were operating on Wednesday morning from Haneda, one of the world’s busiest airports, but dozens were cancelled.
The passenger plane had arrived from New Chitose airport serving Sapporo on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido. Those on board included eight children.
The coastguard plane had been preparing to fly to Ishikawa prefecture to deliver supplies after the devastating New Year’s Day earthquake, which killed at least 64 people.
The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, praised the coastguard crew who died on their way to help victims of the quake. “These were employees who had a high sense of mission and responsibility for the affected areas,” he said.
In 1985, a JAL jumbo jet flying from Tokyo to Osaka crashed in the central Gunma region, killing 520 passengers and crew. It is the world’s deadliest plane crash involving a single flight.
Drone footage shows devastating aftermath of deadly Japan earthquakes
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Aftershocks continued to jolt Japan on Wednesday as the death toll from a series of strong earthquakes rose to 62, according to the regional government.
Earlier, Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kishida said rescuers were in a “battle against time” as the toll continued to rise.
A magnitude of 7.6 jolted Japan on Monday afternoon damaging buildings and roads, which also prompted the country to issue tsunami warnings along the coast. The tsunami warnings were later lifted on early Tuesday morning.
More than 300 people are reportedly injured and 20 of them are in serious condition.
Rescue teams struggled in freezing temperatures on Tuesday to reach isolated areas where many people are feared trapped under toppled buildings.
“The search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time,” the prime minister said during an emergency disaster meeting.
Nearly 31,800 people are in shelters at the moment as tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed.
Japan experienced more than 400 tremors until Wednesday morning
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), more than 400 aftershocks have struck the region as of this morning.
The 7.6-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day was followed by hundreds of aftershocks, with officials warning these could continue for up to a week.
Some regions in the Noto peninsula, the epicentre of the initial quake, remain cut off due to damaged roads, landslides and large fires.
“To secure the route there, we are to mobilise all the means of transport, not only on the ground but also by aerial and marine transport. We have been making an effort to transfer goods, supplies and personnel there since last night,” prime minister Fumio Kishida said.
ICYMI: Japan’s nuclear power plants unscathed from earthquake
Japan’s nuclear power plants along the Sea of Japan coast remained largely unscathed from the New Year’s Day earthquake that struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture.
Despite the 7.6 magnitude quake triggering tsunami warnings – that were later lifted — and evacuations in nine prefectures, Japan Times reported, that the incident could renew public concerns about the safety of nuclear power in an earthquake-prone country.
Survivors share heartwrenching stories after quake destroyed their homes
Yasuhiro Kano, a resident of Suzu’s Horyu district, evacuated his mother in time just as his house was collapsing.
His two-story home was destroyed in the earthquake. Since New Year’s Day, he has moved to two shelters but now worries about food and rescue.
“At first I thought the shaking was the usual 4 or 5 on the Japanese seismic scale, but soon the vertical shaking came, and the house collapsed,” the 50-year-old told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
“My house has completely collapsed. I don’t know what will happen now. I don’t even know how long it will take to recover. I have nothing but anxiety,” he added.
A British tourist visiting Japan, Emma Ward, told BBC that the quake hit “without warning”. She was on a ski holiday with her group and as the massive tremor struck the region, she took shelter under a table in the cafe.
“The worst part during the earthquake was not knowing how intense it was going to become. It’s a very frightening experience.”
World leaders offer support to Japan after devastating earthquake kills 62
The United States, the UK and Canada offered support to Japan after the major earthquake that has so far killed 62 people.
Joe Biden said in a statement that the United States will provide “any necessary assistance for the Japanese people”.
British prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “We stand ready to support Japan and are monitoring developments closely.”
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said on X/Twitter: “My thoughts are with the people of Japan following the devastating earthquake. To Japan, our partner and friend: Canada is standing with you, ready to extend a helping hand.”
French president Emmanuel Macron expressed solidarity with Japan, saying that the country can count on France’s support. “Solidarity with Japan which must overcome the consequences of strong earthquakes.
“We share the immense pain of the victims’ families.
“Dear @kishida230, you can count on the support and help of France.”
Severed road connections make it difficult to reach survivors with aid
There are significant difficulties in accessing the northern Noto peninsula in Japan – the worst-hit quake region – due to severed road connections to Wajima and Suzu, local media reported.
The Ishikawa prefecture’s Noto peninsula was most severely hit in the 7.6-magnitude devastating earthquake.
Roads leading to Noto Airport in Wajima are inaccessible, with extensive cracks exceeding 10 centimetres in depth and over 10 metres in length on the runways, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported.
In response, officials are now planning to use sea routes to transport relief supplies to the survivors and rescue teams.
It took firefighters more than six hours to extinguish the blaze that engulfed a Japan Airlines jet after it struck another plane on landing at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday. Earlier, it had taken the 12 crew members just minutes to usher hundreds of people on board to safety.
As petrified passengers watched flames lick the windows while the cabin filled with smoke, JAL flight attendants hid their unease and drew on every last detail of their safety training. According to the airline, all 367 passengers and 12 crew disembarked in under 20 minutes.
As Japanese and international aviation experts attempt to establish how a Japan Coast Guard Bombardier DHC8-300 – five of whose six occupants perished – came to lie directly in the path of the Airbus A350, the men and women whose actions averted a major disaster during those vital minutes have been praised for their composure and professionalism.
The pilot who brought the skidding plane, now resembling a fireball, to a halt on its nose; the crew who, unable to use the damaged PA system, calmly issued instructions through megaphones; and the passengers, who remained seated before making their way to evacuation slides, leaving their carry-on luggage to the flames.
Real-time images filmed from the terminal building at Haneda – one of two international airports serving the capital – show the plane in flames as it careered down the runway, suggesting claims of a miracle escape are far from hyperbolic.
Inside the aircraft, confusion quickly turned to horror as passengers noticed that an engine had caught fire seconds after the plane landed at the end of an early-evening flight from Shin Chitose airport on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido.
“I was laughing a bit at first when I could see sparks coming out [of the engine], but when the fire started, I realised it there was more to it than that,” said Tokyo resident Tsubasa Sawada. “I really thought I was going to die.”
Widely shared video footage shows flight attendants at the front of a darkened cabin gesturing for passengers to remain seated and thanking them for their cooperation. At one point, the camera pans across to show a window frame filled with orange light.
“Please get me out of here,” one woman shouts in the video. A child is heard asking: “Why don’t you just open the doors?”
The actions of crew and passengers have been credited with averting tragedy. Incredibly, none received serious injuries. As firefighters arrived to begin battling the flames, the crew had already deployed the escape chutes – the cue for almost 400 people, including several young children, to slide to safety.
Critically, none appeared to have paused to retrieve hand luggage from overhead lockers, ensuring a clear route to the emergency exits. Less than two hours earlier, the passengers had watched a JAL safety video urging them to do exactly that. In the video, a flight attendant warns: “Leave your baggage when you evacuate!”, extending her open palms for emphasis. An animated sequence then shows the damage that bags and high-heeled shoes can cause to the inflatable evacuation slides.
Aviation experts said the unshakeable composure displayed by the flight attendants combined with the high level of cooperation among passengers probably prevented a deeply unsettling experience becoming a major disaster.
“The cabin crew must have done an excellent job. There don’t seem to be any carry-ons. It was a miracle that all the passengers got off,” said Paul Hayes, director of air safety at the UK-based aviation consultancy Ascend by Cirium.
Michele Robson, a former air traffic controller, said the crew had done “really well to evacuate under very difficult circumstances”. She told Channel 4 News: “It’s natural for passengers to start panicking when they see flames, and obviously there had been come sort of collision, which must have been extremely worrying for those on board.”
John Cox, a pilot and founder of a US-based aviation safety consultancy, said the cabin crew “did a remarkably great job” getting passengers off the plane so quickly. “It shows good training,” he said. “And if you look at the video, people are not trying to get stuff out of the overheads. They are concentrating on getting out of the airplane.”
The rigorous insistence on safety during the evacuation is rooted in better aircraft design and tougher standards across the industry, but also in JAL’s part in the most deadly accident in aviation history involving a single aircraft.
On 12 August 1985, a JAL jumbo jet crashed into a mountain en route from Tokyo to Osaka, killing 520 of the 524 people on board.
While the cause was traced to a faulty repair carried out by Boeing engineers and not to pilot error, the crash and its aftermath have left an indelible mark on the carrier’s safety culture, including a display of torn fuselage and damaged seats retrieved from the wreckage intended to raise awareness about safety among JAL employees.
Almost four decades on, the carrier is regularly named as one of the world’s safest airlines by the website airlineratings.com.
“Japan has a phenomenal record when it comes to transport safety,” Prof Graham Braithwaite, director of transport systems at Cranfield University in the UK, told the BBC, describing JAL as a “world leader” in safety.
“The evacuation has been successful and is a reminder of how much has gone into training cabin crew,” he added. “Their focus is on safety. They are the last people to evacuate the airplane and on face value, it looks like they have done an incredible job.”
Like every one of his fellow passengers, Sawada, who was returning from Hokkaido from a holiday with his girlfriend, tried to suppress thoughts of what might have been, had the evacuation taken longer.
About 10 minutes after disembarking, there was an explosion on the plane, he said. “I can only say it was a miracle … we could have died if we had been late.”
