The key question about fiery crash at Tokyo airport: Did one or both planes have OK to use runway?

Passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 516 were buckled up and ready to land at Tokyo's Haneda Airport as their pilot made a final approach. “Cleared to land,” the pilot repeated after receiving an instruction from air traffic control to put the jet down on Runway C.

About two minutes later, the Airbus A350 that had traveled from New Chitose Airport near Sapporo was engulfed in an orange fireball, spewing gray smoke from the side as it continued on the runway.

Manabu Kotake, a Sapporo resident visiting Tokyo, felt a strong bang and initially thought the airliner had made a rough touchdown. He looked out the window and observed flames, then noticed a burning smell. Seated near the engine, Kotake saw it falling apart.

“I panicked and thought I may not be able to survive,” he told Japanese news agency Jiji Press.