Japan Air Lines Flight 446

Japan Air Lines Flight 446 was a scheduled Japan Air Lines flight from Sheremetyevo International Airport of Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. On November 28, 1972, the Douglas DC-8 on the route crashed during the initial climb phase upon takeoff from Sheremetyevo. While it is established by investigation that the direct reason for the crash was stalling shortly after takeoff, the Soviet Accident Investigation Committee noted the possibility of accidental deployment of the spoilers and reduced thrust due to engine problems as the cause for this accident.

Accident

On November 28, 1972, Japan Air Lines Flight 446, operated by JA8040 (a DC-8-62), departed from Copenhagen Airport in Denmark bound for Tokyo International Airport in Japan with an intermediate stop at Sheremetyevo International Airport. At 7:51 PM Moscow time (1:51 AM, Nov 29 for Tokyo time), the flight took off from Sheremetyevo, reached an altitude of 100 m, stalled, and crashed 150 m beyond the runway end, 30 seconds after leaving the ground.

On board were 6 flight crew (3 of them backup crew), 7 cabin crew, 1 employee of Japan Air Lines, and 62 passengers (of whom 52 were Japanese). All except for 5 flight attendants and 9 passengers perished, which made 62 fatalities. All survivors were seated near first-class seats located in the front section of the fuselage, suffering severe injuries. Eight of the surviving passengers were Japanese; the other was E. Bruce Smith of New Zealand.

The aircraft involved, JA8040, was delivered in July 1969, and written off less than 3.5 years after its delivery, thus being the most short-lived among Japan Airlines' DC-8s. This aircraft was noted for previous involvement in several major incidents: with the nickname Hida, it was used to carry passengers involved in the hijack of Japan Air Lines Flight 351 back to Japan in April 1970; on November 6, 1972, 22 days before the crash, this plane was offered to the hijackers of the JA351 hijack in response to their demand to flee to Cuba, although they were ultimately arrested at Haneda Airport.

This was the second fatal accident within the same calendar year for Japan Air Lines, following Japan Air Lines Flight 471 in June.