Safety Promotion Center

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The Safety Promotion Center is a museum and educational center operated by Japan Airlines to promote airline safety. It is located in Tokyo, Japan, near Tokyo International Airport.

A major objective of the Safety Promotion Center is to establish safety awareness among JAL Group staff.[1] The main exhibits of the center explain the events leading to the crash of Japan Airlines Flight 123, which used a Boeing 747.[2]

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[edit] History

On August 12, 1985, Japan Airlines Flight 123, a flight from Tokyo International Airport (informally called Haneda Airport) to Osaka International Airport (also known as Itami Airport), crashed into Mount Takamagahara.[3] The accident was the deadliest involving a single aircraft.[4][5] The crash was eventually attributed to an improper repair in the rear bulkhead several years earlier, leading to catastrophic structural failure.[6]

A five-man panel of outside safety experts was established by Japan Airline in 2005 and chaired by Kunio Yanagida, a well-known writer specializing in scientific, aviation, and crisis management topics. The panel recommended creation of the center.[7]

The center opened on April 24, 2006.[8] Yutaka Kanasaki is the director.[9] One of the main objectives of the center is to establish safety awareness among Japan Airlines employees.[10]

Despite its lack of publicity, the center receives more than 80 visitors every weekday.[11]

[edit] Location

The center is located in an unmarked office building in the maintenance district near Haneda Airport,[12] near the Seibijo station on the Tokyo Monorail. It is open to the public but reservations are necessary.[13]

[edit] Exhibits

Wreckage from the aft fuselage, the cockpit voice recorder, newspaper reports of the accident, and photographs of the crash site are on display at the center. The aircraft did not crash immediately, allowing passengers time to write such farewell letters. Some of these letters are also on display.[14][15] The center also has displays about other Japan Airlines accidents, as well as other historical aviation accidents.[16] The center occupies 622 square meters of floor space.[17]

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