View source for All Nippon Airways Flight 61

{{Short description|1999 aircraft hijacking}}
{{distinguish|All Nippon Airways Flight 60}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| occurrence_type = Hijacking
| name = All Nippon Airways Flight 61
| image = ANA B747-400D(JA8966) (4801909072).jpg
| alt = 
| caption = JA8966, the aircraft in the hijacking attempt, pictured in 2010
| date = July 23, 1999
| type = [[Aircraft hijacking|Hijacking]]
| site = Haneda [[Tokyo]], Yokota, Izu Island, [[Japan]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|35.5570|139.7813|region:JP_type:event|display=it}}
| aircraft_type = [[Boeing 747-400|Boeing 747-481D]]
| aircraft_name = 
| operator = [[All Nippon Airways]]
| callsign = ALL NIPPON 61
| tail_number = JA8966
| occupants = 517
| passengers = 503 (including the hijacker)
| crew = 14
| fatalities = 1 (Captain)
| injuries = 0
| missing = 
| survivors = 516
| origin = [[Haneda Airport]], [[Ōta, Tokyo]], Japan
| stopover = 
| stopover0 = 
| last_stopover = 
| destination = [[New Chitose Airport]], [[Chitose, Hokkaido|Chitose]], [[Hokkaido]], Japan
}}
On July 23, 1999, an [[All Nippon Airways]] [[Boeing 747-400|Boeing 747-481D]] with 503 passengers on Flight 61, including 14 children and 14 crew members on board, took off from [[Tokyo Haneda Airport]] in [[Ōta, Tokyo]], [[Japan]] and was en route to [[New Chitose Airport]] in [[Chitose, Hokkaidō|Chitose]], Japan, near [[Sapporo]]<ref name="ANA press release">{{Cite press release|date=1999-07-23|title=ANA FLIGHT 61 LANDS SAFELY AT HANEDA AIRPORT AFTER HIJACKING INCIDENT|url=https://www.ana.co.jp/eng/aboutana/press/1999/990722.html|access-date=2020-10-30|publisher=All Nippon Airways}}</ref> when it was hijacked by Yūji Nishizawa.{{efn|{{nihongo|Yuji Nishizawa|西沢 裕司|Nishizawa Yūji}}}}

== Incident ==
About 25 minutes after takeoff at 11:48 A.M. JST,<ref name="BBCJapanesekillspilot">{{Cite news|date=1999-07-23|title=Japanese hijacker kills pilot|work=BBC News|publisher=[[BBC]]|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/401680.stm}}</ref> Nishizawa used a kitchen knife which was {{convert|20|cm}} long,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kuchment|first=Anna|date=1999-08-01|title=Terror In The Tokyo Skies (hijacking of an All Nippon Airways flight results in the death of a pilot)|url=http://www.newsweek.com/terror-tokyo-skies-165680|work=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> to force a flight attendant to allow him access into the cockpit. He then forced 34-year-old First Officer Kazuyuki Koga out,{{efn|{{nihongo|Kazuyuki Koga|古賀 和幸|''Koga Kazuyuki''}}}} remaining in the cockpit with 51-year-old captain Naoyuki Nagashima,{{efn|{{nihongo|Naoyuki Nagashima|長島 直之|''Nagashima Naoyuki''}}}} who managed to notify Air Traffic Control (ATC) about the hijacking. Nishizawa stabbed Nagashima in the chest and took control of the plane, at one point descending to an altitude of {{convert|300|m}}.<ref name="ASN">{{Cite web|last=Ranter|first=Harro|title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-481D JA8966 Tokyo|url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19990723-0|access-date=2020-10-30 |publisher=[[Aviation Safety Network]]}}</ref>

At 12:09 P.M. [[Time in Japan|JST]], crew members managed to subdue Nishizawa. Off-duty pilot Junji Yamauchi,{{efn|{{nihongo|Junji Yamauchi|山内 純二|''Yamauchi Junji''}}}} who was aboard the flight, took control of the aircraft, and co-pilot Koga got back into the cockpit, telling the air traffic controllers, "It's an emergency. The captain was stabbed. Prepare an ambulance." The plane made an emergency landing at Haneda Airport at 12:14 P.M. and Nishizawa was immediately arrested. A doctor confirmed the death of Nagashima, of [[Yokohama]], shortly after the plane landed. Nishizawa was charged with [[murder]].

==Security exploit==
Nishizawa had smuggled the knife aboard the aircraft by exploiting multiple security flaws at Haneda. He had discovered that it was possible to access the departure gates from the luggage claim area without going through security checks. He first checked-in for a [[Japan Airlines|JAL]] round-trip flight from Tokyo to Osaka with the knife in his checked baggage while also checking in for Flight 61; upon return to Tokyo he retrieved his baggage (with the knife) from the Osaka flight, and carried the knife (and the bag) aboard Flight 61 as carry-on luggage.

He had originally planned to carry out the hijacking one day earlier, on July 22. He had told his parents and psychiatrist that he was traveling alone to Hokkaido, but his parents had discovered his bags containing multiple airline tickets and the knife, causing him to delay his plans for one day. Nishizawa had booked tickets on multiple departing flights: in addition to Flight 61 for New Chitose, he had tickets for ANA Flight 083 for Naha which left ten minutes earlier than Flight 61, and Flight 851 for Hakodate.

Nishizawa had discovered the security flaw a month before the hijacking, and after confirming it on a round-trip flight to Kumamoto, sent letters to the Ministry of Transport, All Nippon Airways, and other agencies, in addition to major newspapers, notifying them of it. Additionally, he requested employment by the airport as a security guard. The airport made one telephone call in response, but no further action was taken until after the hijacking, when procedures were revised comprehensively throughout Japan's airports, eliminating the security flaw.

After the incident, the [[Japanese Transport Ministry]] ordered more strict checks with hand-carried baggage brought through security checkpoints before boarding any aircraft.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jeziorski|first=Andrzej|date=1999-08-04|title=ANA hijack triggers security crackdown in Japan|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/ana-hijack-triggers-security-crackdown-in-japan/27881.article|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Flight Global|location=Singapore}}</ref>

== Aftermath ==
Nishizawa, born September 8, 1970, in [[Tokyo]] was, at the time, a 28-year-old unemployed man from the ward of [[Edogawa, Tokyo|Edogawa]] in Tokyo. During the investigation, it was revealed that Nishizawa had taken a large dose of [[Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor|SSRI]] medication (which are [[antidepressant]]s) before the episode. Nishizawa was said to be an enthusiast of flight simulators.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2003-07-23|title=Air Osama|url=https://www.salon.com/2003/07/23/flightsim_terrorism/|access-date=2020-10-30|website=Salon|language=en}}</ref> He said that he hijacked the plane because he wanted to fly it under the [[Rainbow Bridge (Tokyo)|Rainbow Bridge]] in Tokyo.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Watts|first=Jonathan|date=1999-07-24|title=Flight simulator fan kills pilot to take over airliner|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/jul/24/jonathanwatts|access-date=2020-10-30|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> He was also found, in an examination commissioned by his defense attorney, to have [[Asperger syndrome]].<ref>{{cite web|title=LEAD: Life term demanded for man who hijacked ANA plane in 1999|url=http://www.ssristories.org/show.php?item=607|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810070312/http://www.ssristories.org/show.php?item=607|archive-date=2014-08-10|access-date=2014-07-26}}</ref> On March 23, 2005, he was found guilty but of unsound mind; therefore, he was held only [[Diminished responsibility|partly responsible]] for his actions. Days later, presiding judge [[Hisaharu Yasui]] sentenced Nishizawa to [[life imprisonment]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2005-03-24|title=Man gets life for ANA hijacking, killing pilot|work=[[The Japan Times]]|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20050324a2.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430020249/http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20050324a2.html|archive-date=2009-04-30}}</ref>

Due to issues of criminal insanity, the mass media had not initially revealed Nishizawa's name when reporting on the case. However, on July 27, the [[Sankei Shimbun]] published his name and photograph, with the claim that the incident was a "serious crime". Following this case, the practice of publishing suspects' names in similar circumstances increased in Japanese tabloids and news weeklies, and eventually, national newspapers and news agencies.

The family of Nagashima sued All Nippon Airways, the Japanese state and Nishizawa's family, over Nagashima's death, alleging that poor security at the airport and aboard the plane led to the incident. A settlement with undisclosed terms was reached on December 21, 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=Family of pilot killed in ANA hijacking reaches settlement in damages suit|url=http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071221p2a00m0na014000c.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221203015/http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20071221p2a00m0na014000c.html|archive-date=2007-12-21|access-date=2007-12-21|work=Mainichi Shimbun}}</ref>

{{Portal|Japan|Aviation|1990s|Law}}

==See also==
*[[All Nippon Airways Flight 857]] – another All Nippon Airways Boeing 747 that was hijacked
*[[British Airways Flight 2069]] – an attempted hijacking of Boeing 747 that was foiled

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19990723-0 Hijacking Description] at the [[Aviation Safety Network]]

{{All Nippon Airways}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Japan}}
{{Aviation incidents and accidents in 1999}}

[[Category:Aircraft hijackings in Japan]]
[[Category:1999 in Japan]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Japan]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1999]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 747]]
[[Category:All Nippon Airways accidents and incidents]]
[[Category:Haneda Airport]]
[[Category:July 1999 in Japan]]
[[Category:1999 murders in Japan]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Japan in 1999]]
[[Category:1999 in Tokyo]]