Pilot who halted blazing plane safely, crew who stuck to the drill and passengers who left their luggage behind delivered a textbook evacuation

It took firefighters more than six hours to extinguish the blaze that engulfed a Japan Airlines jet after it struck another plane on landing at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Tuesday. Earlier, it had taken the 12 crew members just minutes to usher hundreds of people on board to safety.

As petrified passengers watched flames lick the windows while the cabin filled with smoke, JAL flight attendants hid their unease and drew on every last detail of their safety training. According to the airline, all 367 passengers and 12 crew disembarked in under 20 minutes.