Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a scheduled domestic flight from Tokyo's Haneda Airport (also known as Tokyo International Airport) to Osaka International Airport (Also known as Osaka Itami Airport). On August 12, 1985, the Boeing 747-146SR developed mechanical problems 12 minutes after taking off. The plane then crashed into Mount Takamagahara in Gunma Prefecture 32 minutes later, after the pilots tried to control the plane, but failed. 520 people died, and only 4 survived. The crash was caused by incorrect repair after a tailstrike incident, which caused metal fatigue and eventually an in-flight structural failure, in which the whole tail of the plane separated from the plane.
The crash was the worst plane crash involving only one plane by number of fatalities.
The plane that crashed was a Boeing 747-146SR (SR stands for short range), with tail number JA8119. The plane was used to fly short, domestic routes within Japan. The plane first flew on January 28, 1974. It had 4 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A engines. Before it crashed, it had flown for 25030 hours, and took off and landed 18835 times.
On June 2, 1978, JA8119 was involved in a tailstrike accident at Osaka International Airport. When landing, the plane's tail struck the runway. The aft pressure bulkhead was damaged in the accident, as well as the rear of the plane. Later, during June 17 and July 11, repairman from Boeing repaired the plane, by replacing the lower part of the rear and a part of the bulkhead. The plane later returned to service.
While investigating the accident, the investigators realised that the repair done 7 years before the accident by Boeing was incorrect. While two rows of rivets were required for a splice plate in the bulkhead to be installed, the repairman only used one row. This increased the chance of metal fatigue by 70% and also caused the subsequent accident.
On that day, the plane was flown by three crew. The 49-year-old captain, Masami Takahama, was a very experienced pilot. He has flown for 12423 hours, with 4842 hours on 747s. The 39-year-old co-pilot, Yutaka Sasaki, was training to be a captain. On that flight, he was seated on the left-seat (which is usually for captains). He has flown 3963 hours, with 2665 hours on 747s. The last crew, 46-years-old flight engineer, Hiroshi Fukuda, has flown 9831 hours, with 3846 hours on 747s. There were also 12 cabin crew.
The countries which the passengers and crew came from are listed below.
On the afternoon of the accident day, JA8119 has already completed two round trip flights, JL503/504 to and from Sapporo, and JL363/366 to and from Fukuoka. At 5.17pm, the plane has just completed flight JL366, and was parked at Spot 18 at Tokyo International Airport, getting ready for its flight to Osaka, JL123.
At 6.04pm, the plane started taxiing towards the runway. Takeoff was at 6.12pm, and the plane climbed to its cruising height of 24000ft (about 7300 metres). Till then, everything was fine.
At 6.24pm, there was suddenly a loud noise heard, which was actually caused by the pressure bulkhead's failure. This caused an explosive decompression. Air rushed out of the plane and blew off the tail of the plane. As all four hydraulic lines, which control the plane, are located in the tail, the plane became uncontrollable. 46 seconds later the pilots squawked 7700 (meaning that they are in an emergency) and requested to return to Tokyo International Airport. However, although the air traffic controller approved the plane to turn towards Tokyo, the plane strangely started heading towards the north-west direction. At 6.28pm, the Tokyo Air Traffic Controller asked the pilots to turn left, but received the message from the pilots, "now uncontrollable." By then, the plane was moving in a way called the phugoid motion, climbing until losing speed and stalling, then the nose goes down and gaining speed until the plane is able to climb again. The phugoid motion repeated itself until the end of the flight.
At 6.31pm, the air traffic controller asked the plane if it can land at Nagoya Airport, which was 72 miles (about 133 km) from the plane. However, the pilots wanted to return to Tokyo. Between 6.35pm and 6.56pm, the pilots struggled to control the plane without the tail. This failed, as the plane flew uncontrollably towards the mountains.
At 6.56pm, the plane's right wing hit a ridge. The plane then flew on, crashed into a second ridge, and exploded. 520 died, while 4 survives.
The time taken for the plane to crash after the bulkhead failure is 32 minutes. The accident was the worst in aviation history involving explosive decompression.
Oncogene
An oncogene is a gene that has the potential to cause cancer. Or, equally good, an oncogene is a gene which brings about uncontrolled cell division.
Oncogenes in tumor cells are often mutated or expressed at high levels.
Most normal cells undergo a programmed form of death (apoptosis). Activated oncogenes can cause those cells designated for apoptosis to survive and proliferate instead. Most oncogenes require an additional step, such as mutations in another gene, or environmental factors, such as viral infection, to cause cancer. Since the 1970s, dozens of oncogenes have been identified in human cancer. Many cancer drugs target the proteins coded by oncogenes.
In 1976 J. Michael Bishop and Harold E. Varmus of the University of California, San Francisco showed that oncogenes were activated proto-oncogenes, found in many organisms including humans. For this discovery Bishop and Varmus were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1989.
The work of Bishop and Varmus corrected a long-standing error. The Nobel citation includes this explanation:
In fact, the reverse transcription of the virus RNA into DNA had the effect that the oncogenes become integrated into the chromosomal DNA in the cells. It was then found that oncogene-like material could be detected in different species throughout the animal kingdom, in fact even in simple organisms with only a few cells. Furthermore, it was shown that the gene had a fixed position in the chromosomes of a certain species, and that the gene, when it constituted part of the cellular genetic material, was divided into fragments.
A proto-oncogene is a normal gene that can become an oncogene due to mutations or increased expression. The resultant protein can be called an oncoprotein. Proto-oncogenes code for proteins that help to regulate cell growth and differentiation. Proto-oncogenes are often involved in signal transduction and execution of mitogenic signals, usually through their protein products. Upon "activation", a proto-oncogene (or its product) becomes a tumor-inducing agent, an oncogene.
The MYC gene is implicated in Burkitt's Lymphoma. This starts when a chromosomal translocation moves an enhancer sequence close to the MYC gene. The MYC gene codes for widely used transcription factors. When the enhancer sequence is wrongly placed, these transcription factors are produced at much higher rates. Another example of an oncogene is the Bcr-Abl gene found on the 'Philadelphia Chromosome'. This is a piece of genetic material seen in Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, caused by the translocation of pieces from chromosomes 9 and 22. Bcr-Abl codes for a receptor tyrosine kinase, which is active, causing uncontrolled cell proliferation.
Roger Neilson
Roger Paul Neilson, CM (June 16, 1934 – June 21, 2003) was a National Hockey League coach, and was responsible for many victories in the game. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builder category.
Neilson was born in Toronto, Ontario. After attending North Toronto Collegiate Institute, his coaching career began as a student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and continued upon graduation with a degree in Physical Education in both hockey and baseball.
Neilson died on June 21, 2003 from bone and skin cancer in Peterborough, Ontario, aged 69.
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