Funeral Held for Coast Guard Members Two Months After Haneda Airport Crash; Families Hold Silent Memorial Service

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, March 2, 2024

A public funeral was held in Tokyo on Saturday for Japan Coast Guard crew members who died in the collision between a Japan Airlines plane and JCG aircraft on the runway of Haneda Airport on Jan. 2.

Saturday marked the collision’s two-month anniversary.

About 300 people, including bereaved family members and former colleagues of the victims, attended the funeral to mourn the five JCG crew members who died on their way to support areas affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

The five crew members killed in the accident are: co-pilot Nobuyuki Tahara, 41; mechanic Makoto Uno, 47; search radar operator Wataru Tatewaki, 39; radio operator Yoshiki Ishida, 27, and maintenance worker Shigeaki Kato, 56.

Photos of the five victims were displayed at the funeral venue. Hiroyuki Hayashi, commander of the JCG Haneda Air Station, gave a speech to express his condolences. “Nothing is more painful and sad than seeing the heartache of families of the friends who flew together, shared their hardships and their future,” he said.

About 50 bereaved family members visited Haneda Airport and observed a moment of silence near Runway C at 5:47 p.m., the time the incident occurred.