JAL flight was cleared to land before fiery Tokyo collision

As Japan Airlines Flight 516 approached Tokyo’s Haneda Airport late on Tuesday afternoon, all signs pointed to an uneventful conclusion to the routine 90-minute journey from Sapporo.

At 5:43 p.m. local time, control-tower staff told pilots of the Airbus A350-900 jet to continue their approach into Haneda. A minute and a half later, the flight was given clearance to land, according to audio posted on LiveATC.net, which tracks airport communications.

Less than three minutes after that, the jetliner with 379 people aboard was in flames, having struck a much smaller De Havilland Canada Dash 8 operated by the Japan Coast Guard just as it touched down.