Boeing 737-846 incident near Tokyo, Japan, Jp, October 20, 2012
On October 20, 2012 at about 10:43 am local time, a Boeing 737-846, registered JA342J, was involved in an incident near Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo International Airport). It was flown under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt; 144 people were on board or involved.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this incident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 20, 2012 · about 10:43 am local time
- Place
- Tokyo, Japan, Japan · Tokyo International Airport
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 144 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 737-846 · all 737-846s on the register
- Registration
- JA342J · no longer on the register · serial 39191
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Flight · non-U.S. commercial rules
The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record
On October 20, 2012, a Boeing 737-800, registered JA342J, operated by JAL Express, departed from Tokyo International Airport and declared an emergency No. 1 engine failure during climb. The pilot reported low engine RPM and high exhaust gas temperature warnings. Flight crew operating manual procedures were followed and the No. 1 engine was shutdown before the aircraft returned to Tokyo International Airport for an uneventful single engine landing. No injuries were reported to the 144 passengers and crew members on board. Damage to the high pressure compressor and turbine blades was noted during a preliminary inspection by ground crews. The Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) is investigating the incident. The NTSB has was notified of the incident under the provisions of Annex 13 to the Convention of Civil Aviation as the state of manufacture and design for multiple components on the CFM56-7B engine. All inquiries concerning this incident should be directed to the JTSB at: Director-General Secretariat of the Aircraft and Railway Accidents Investigation Commission Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport 2-1-2, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8918 Japan Tel.: (81) 3 5253 8813 E-mail: ARAIC@mlit.go.jp Fax: (81) 3 5253 1677 AFTN: RJTDYAYA Cable: KOKUKYOKU-TOKYO Website: http://www.motnet.go.jp/araic/index.html
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cfm CFM56-7B24 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HND Tokyo, Japan
- Destination: MYJ Matsuyama
- Flight plan: not recorded
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabi | 4 | |||
| Flight crew | 2 | |||
| Passengers | 138 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.