Japanese Mark 1st Anniversary of JAL Disaster

UENOMURA, Japan — More than 1,700 relatives of people killed a year ago in the world’s worst single plane disaster gathered in this remote village Sunday for the unveiling of a monument commemorating the 520 victims.

The family members and more than 500 guests crowded under two circus-size tents during a three-hour dedication ceremony.

The 36-foot granite monument consists of two symmetrical sections of a cone, symbolizing hands clasped in prayer.

Uenomura is about five miles from where the Japan Air Lines Boeing 747 crashed on Aug. 12, 1985, on a domestic flight from Tokyo to Osaka. The village is about 62 miles northwest of Tokyo.

Only 4 Survived

Four people survived, including Hiroko Yoshizaki, 35, and her 9-year-old daughter, Mikiko, who attended the ceremony.

The ceremony was held nine days before the first anniversary because the Aug. 12 date is too close to Obon, a three-day event beginning Aug. 15 when Japanese families get together to pray for their ancestors.

The 520 deaths were exceeded in aviation history only by the March 27, 1977, airport collision of two jetliners on Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, in which 582 people were killed.

“I’ve come here today to pay respects to all the family members and apologize for this tragic accident,” President Frank A. Shrontz of the Boeing Co. said in a brief address at the end of the ceremony.

Repairs Were Faulty

Boeing has acknowledged that faulty repairs were made on the plane after it scraped its tail during a landing at Osaka airport in 1978.

“Nobody is absolutely perfect,” Shrontz told reporters after the ceremony. “It happened, but it only happened once.”

JAL President Susumu Yamaji told the news conference: “As I was watching the mourners come to the ceremony today, children without parents, lonesome elders and women (widows) walking alone, I told myself we should never let this happen again.”

Shrontz declined comment when asked if faulty repair was directly responsible for the accident.

Bulkhead Blamed

A final Japanese report on the cause of the crash has not been completed. Preliminary investigations indicated that the plane’s rear pressure bulkhead burst as the plane climbed to cruising altitude, sending a rush of pressurized air into the non-pressurized tail section. This, in turn, severely damaged the tail fin and severed all four of the plane’s hydraulic systems.

The flawed repair was conducted on the pressure bulkhead.

The families of some victims have filed lawsuits against Boeing and JAL, saying the airline conducted inadequate inspections after Boeing’s repair.

At the ceremony, village children joined hands with about 100 children related to crash victims to unveil the monument, on the side of a small hill in the village center.

The monument faces the ridge of 5,408-foot Mt. Osutaka where JAL flight 123 crashed after losing control 30 minutes earlier.