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Photo: Harcmac60 / CC BY-SA 3.0
12 August 1985

Japan Air Lines Flight 123

The 747 that lost its tail fin over Japan

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On 12 August 1985 Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a Boeing 747 flying from Tokyo to Osaka with 524 people on board, lost most of its tail fin and all four hydraulic systems when its rear pressure bulkhead burst, 12 minutes after takeoff. The crew kept it flying for more than 30 minutes using engine power before it struck a mountain ridge in Gunma Prefecture, and 520 people were killed; four passengers survived.
3 video perspectives
- Japan Air Lines Flight 123: The Obon Flight and the 1978 Repair
  
  This Disaster Breakdown episode explains Japan Air Lines Flight 123, the Boeing 747 that crashed in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture on 12 August 1985.
  
  Published 24 Oct 2020
- Japan Air Lines Flight 123: How the Bulkhead Burst Took the Tail
  
  This four-minute Smithsonian Channel clip explains the mechanism of the Japan Air Lines Flight 123 accident in 1985.
  
  Published 13 Apr 2022
- Japan Air Lines Flight 123: The Faulty Repair Behind 520 Deaths
  
  Fascinating Horror's short documentary on Japan Air Lines Flight 123 starts with the aircraft's tail strike at Osaka in 1978 and ends at the memorial on the mountain.
  
  Published 16 Apr 2024