Boeing 777 incident near Naha, Jp, December 4, 2020
On December 4, 2020 at about 11:51 am local time, a Boeing 777, registered JA8978, suffered minor damage in an incident during enroute (climb to cruise) near Naha. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under non-U.S. commercial rules. No one was hurt.
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
- December 4, 2020 · about 11:51 am local time
- Place
- Naha, Japan
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt.
- Weather
- not recorded
- Aircraft
- Boeing 777 · all 777s on the register
- Registration
- JA8978 · no longer on the register · serial 27637
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · non-U.S. commercial rules
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail during enroute (climb to cruise) defining event
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Operator: Japan Airlines
The flight
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The NTSB has not released the docket for this case yet. The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), is usually released when the investigation is nearly complete, and the list here is refreshed when it appears. Check 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.