Photo/Illutration The traffic control tower at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The transport ministry plans to expand mandatory safety training for all pilots, in response to a fatal runway collision between a Japan Airlines passenger jet and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport last January.

Revisions to the Aviation Law will require all pilots, including those of Coast Guard and private aircraft, to undergo Crew Resource Management training, which is designed to enhance communication among crew members.

Currently, CRM training is mandatory only for commercial airlines such as JAL and All Nippon Airways.

Sources said the proposal will be submitted during the ordinary Diet session, which was convened on Jan. 24.

After the revision, all pilots will be required to complete CRM training to be certified to operate at airports with air traffic controllers.

Pilots from the Self-Defense Forces will be exempt from this requirement, as they are governed by separate regulations under the Defense Ministry.

Additionally, the revised law will require major airports to establish a dedicated team to oversee runway safety.

Following the revision, regulators will also check whether measures are in place to prevent aircraft from entering the runway at the wrong time.

CRM, a training program introduced in the 1970s to address the increase in aviation accidents caused by human error, promotes effective communication and information sharing among flight crew members.

In the Haneda accident, the Coast Guard aircraft tragically entered the runway after the crew misunderstood instructions from the air traffic controller.

A progress report released last month revealed that the captain and copilot failed to rectify their error, even after discussing the order with each other.

With the controller also unaware of the misunderstanding, the landing JAL plane collided with the Coast Guard aircraft, killing all but one of the six Coast Guard crew members.

The investigation by the Japan Transport Safety Board is ongoing.

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