ANA Flight 60

On the 4th of February 1966 an All-Nippon Airways flight, was traveling from Sapporo Chitose Airport (CTS/RJCC) to Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND/RJTT) when tragedy struck just minutes before landing. All 133 people aboard NH 60 lost their lives after the plane mysteriously crashed into Tokyo Bay, about 10.4 km from Haneda, despite clear weather during its night approach.

On a clear day, ANA Flight 60 was just minutes from Haneda Airport when the pilot radioed that he planned to land visually, without using instruments. Moments later, the plane disappeared from radar.

Around 7 p.m., villagers along the shore and the pilot of another plane reported seeing flames in the sky, close to the time the aircraft was expected to land. Fishermen and Japanese Defense Force boats began recovering bodies from the bay’s murky waters, retrieving about 20 before an airline spokesman announced the fuselage had been found, containing dozens more. This led to the belief that all 133 people on board had died. 

The aircraft’s tail section, along with at least two of its three engines, the vertical stabilizer, and the horizontal stabilizer, was found mostly intact. The rest of the plane had broken apart on impact. With 133 lives lost, it became the deadliest single-aircraft crash in the world at the time.  

The cause of the crash was never determined, as flight NH 60 didn’t have flight recorders.

It was the worst single-aircraft accident in Japan at the time and remained so until Flight 58 crashed five years later, claiming 133 lives, (126 passengers and 7 crew).

Aircraft Information:

Airline: All Nippon Airways

Code: NH/ANA

Aircraft: Boeing 727-81

Registration: JA8302

Serial Number: 18822/126

Engines: P&W JT8D-7

First Flew: 1965

We’re keeping the families and friends in our thoughts as they honor and remember their loved ones today.