Anniversary of Japan Air Crash Marked
About 200 relatives of victims of the 1985 Japan Air Lines jumbo jet crash climbed a remote mountain in central Japan on Wednesday for an anniverary service for the 520 people killed in history’s worst single-plane crash.
Weeping relatives offered flowers, gifts and prayers before a Buddhist altar erected at the site throughout the day. JAL President Susumi Yamaji, among about 20 airline officials who visited the site, again apologized for the Aug. 12, 1985, disaster and pledged to prevent its recurrence. Boeing Co. Vice President John Swihart also attended the memorial service.
Japanese government investigators concluded that the crash was caused by faulty repairs by Boeing, the plane’s Seattle-based manufacturer, on a key cabin partition that ruptured, allowing pressurized air to burst the tail.
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