Originally Posted by
101RRS
I listened to the actual instruction from the tower to the Dash 8 with respect to the clearance - was intelligible - so any ones guess on what the pilot under stood - however if not clear he should have asked for a repeat.
Say again, or has radio procedure become that slack?
The other airmanship aspect is that you always look at the approach when entering a runway - the airbus would have been above the surrounding lights with a dark background with landing lights on plus other lights - should have been seen. The opposite would have been the case for the airbus pilot - the airport has bright background lights and the Dash 8 would not have been obvious even with its lights on.
Visibility would be dependent upon the position and timing. The JAL pilots would be busy and justifiably assuming they were landing on a clear runway.
Was the Rescue craft still moving/entering the runway at the time of impact, or holding, awaiting take off. If the latter, the sky may have been clear when the smaller plane assumed position, without authorisation.
Either way, it would have been extremely difficult for the JAL pilots to have seen the other plane against the background.