In the aftermath of a tragic collision between a Japan Airlines widebody jet and a small Coast Guard plane, aviation safety officials in the United States have pledged to assist Japan in interpreting the airplane recorders. Jennifer Homendy, the Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, has confirmed that Japan has requested help with the recorders, which were manufactured by L3Harris, as per a 2008 press release. It remains uncertain whether the recorders will be analyzed in Washington or if NTSB staff will go to Japan to assist with this task.
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Despite the jet catching fire after the collision, all 379 passengers on the Japan Airlines Airbus A350 were able to evacuate. However, tragically, five out of six crew members on the Coast Guard plane lost their lives in the collision.
A representative from Honeywell has stated that they manufactured the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) for the Canadian-made Dash-8, but not the flight data recorder (FDR). This information is important because it clarifies that Honeywell is not directly involved in the investigation.
According to international rules governing aircraft investigations, also known as "Annex 13," the investigation is primarily conducted by the country where the crash occurred. Japan is the leader of the investigation, and they have the right to request assistance from other countries, including those that manufactured the planes involved in the collision. In this case, forensic experts from Airbus, the French state agency BAE, and a representative from Canada's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) are all contributing to the investigation.