I have previously written notes on the JAL123 crash, and I was deeply impressed by this air disaster, which involved the largest number of fatalities on a single aircraft in aviation history.

To improve safety awareness among its employees, Japan Airlines (JAL) specifically established the Safety Promotion Center in the maintenance building at Haneda. They display wreckage from flight JL123, belongings of the passengers, etc., and it is open to the public for safety-related companies and individuals to visit.

Recently, my company organized a visit there, and I signed up. Unfortunately, recording and photography are prohibited there, so I didn’t keep any first-hand materials and can only write down my impressions based on memory.

The tour lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes and was guided by a JAL employee. The content covered an overview of all 8 crashes in JAL’s history, as well as the specific process and cause analysis of the JL123 accident. These 8 crashes were: 1952 N93043 1971 JA8764 1972 JA8012 1972 JA8040 1977 JA8054 1977 JA8051 1982 JA8061 1985 JA8119 JAL123

As for the specific process and cause analysis, I basically knew them already. The biggest gain was seeing the wreckage and other physical objects. The fuselage and seats, twisted out of shape by the massive impact, were too horrible to look at. When seeing the farewell notes written by the victims inside the aircraft, a young girl nearby couldn’t help but cry out loud. Although the number of aviation accidents is small, the visual impact of the hellish scenes is immense, truly terrifying…

I carefully observed the section of the pressure bulkhead related to the cause of the accident. I discovered that it was just a metal plate with a thickness of only 1-2 mm, a length of a few dozen centimeters, and a width of only a few centimeters. It was this tiny thin metal plate that claimed more than 500 lives due to metal fatigue!

I also wanted to hear how JAL strengthened safety management, after all, they haven’t had a single accident since ‘85, but it seemed the explanation didn’t include these details. Perhaps this is the purpose of JAL calling this place a “Promotion Center”: to make visitors understand the importance of safety. As for specifically what to do, the answer is left for everyone to think about and solve themselves.