Five people have died in a crash that resulted in a plane bursting into flames at Haneda Airport in Ota Ward, Tokyo.

Japan Airlines said all 379 passengers and crew on board the burning aircraft have been evacuated. 

Some five of the six people aboard the Coast Guard plane it reportedly collided with have been found dead while the pilot managed to escape.

Footage on social media shows the fire starting on the aircraft just as it was landing, with flames and thick smoke rising into the air. 

At least 70 fire trucks were deployed as teams of firefighters have been battling the huge blaze.

It is believed the larger Japanese Airline plane might not have known the Coast Guard aircraft was on the runway when landing in Tokyo, but investigations are ongoing.

An error in the system might have meant both aircrafts were due to be in the same part of the runway at the same time.

死ぬかと思った pic.twitter.com/S7rDPmyssl

— あ (@alto_maple) January 2, 2024

Former BA pilot Alastair Rosenschein said it is difficult to explain the cause of the fire at the Tokyo airport so soon. 

“We know very little about this at the moment but the aircraft is clearly completely destroyed,” he said. 

“It looks like it may be an engine or a wheel fire that became uncontained and spread inside the aircraft.” 

Biggest airport in Tokyo closed

All runways at Haneda - one of the busiest airports in Tokyo - are currently closed. 

Aviation consultant Tim Atkinson also said all 379 passengers and crew surviving is expected because one of the escape doors appears to have been closed.

"In an evacuation, ideally you want all of the exits open, you want all of the slides to deploy normally," he said.

"It appears to me that door was not used in the evacuation, which is even more remarkable."