The fate of the passengers on the Dash 8 is unknown, except that the captain was able to scramble to safety. It will take a while before we know if any of the passengers removed safely from the A350 actually have any serious injuries. It's absolutely amazing that they all got off and I could see on tonight's stream that the slides weren't burned; in fact, one still had the lights going on it while the flames raged over the stricken aircraft.
This evacuation will be discussed for many years to come. The Japanese are an orderly and obedient race of people and not used to panic or stampeding, according to one commentator on the BBC coverage. This has helped save their lives, undoubtedly. Just a short while after a devastating earthquake and one of the planes sending relief packages to the area is destroyed in this collision. An expert in crashes was discussing this on the BBC and he made an extremely salient point: he said that airlines have been letting passengers choose their own seats on flights for a small fee but that this practice had to cease immediately. The thought of families looking for children and loved ones during or after an air accident, when they had been separated during a flight because of seat bookings, is a disaster waiting to happen. Couldn't agree more. I sat next to a woman flying to New Zealand who had been separated from her children - who were right down the front of our section - because of a change of aircraft which entirely altered the seating layout.
Thoughts for those on the Dash 8 who would have had little chance to survive this collision.
