Tokyo: Air traffic controllers in Japan will stop informing planes of their priority for takeoff for the time being following the Jan. 2 aircraft collision at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, according to emergency safety measures disclosed by the transport ministry Tuesday.

A Japan Coast Guard aircraft entered a runway before being hit by a Japan Airlines passenger jet after the coast guard plane was told by an air traffic controller that its order of departure was “number one.”

“At this point, we can’t rule out the possibility of misunderstandings occurring” by revealing the takeoff order, a ministry official said.

Air traffic controllers at Haneda Airport have already stopped using such terms as “number one” or “number two” to inform aircraft of their takeoff sequence, according to the ministry. Controllers at other Japanese airports will follow suit.

Controllers will inform the aircraft side of the takeoff order if asked, according to the ministry.

According to a transcript of communication released by the ministry, an air traffic controller told the coast guard aircraft that it was “number one” and instructed it to taxi to a holding point near the runway around 5:45 p.m. on Jan. 2, and the aircraft side repeated the order and instruction.

However, the coast guard aircraft entered the runway. Some say that the pilot may have misunderstood the meaning of “number one.”

The ministry official said that air traffic controllers had routinely told pilots of their takeoff order and that no problems had occurred.

Still, the official said that the ministry has “concluded that it is necessary to stop disclosing the takeoff order as we can’t deny the possibility of there having been a misunderstanding.”

The emergency measures also include changing the paint of holding point signs near runways to an easy-to-recognize color and allocating personnel to detect runway incursions by monitoring the situation constantly.

JIJI Press