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JA8119: Japan Air Lines' Short-Range Jumbo

JA8119 was a Japan Air Lines short-range 747 used on domestic routes. Its airframe history is central to understanding Flight 123: damage sustained years earlier, an improper structural repair, repeated pressurisation cycles and a later catastrophic failure.

By , Boeing 747 EnthusiastPublished Reviewed
Japan Air Lines Flight 123 photographed over Okutama during the accident flight; reproduced in the investigation report.
Japan Air Lines Flight 123 photographed over Okutama during the accident flight; reproduced in the investigation report.JTSBSource · CC BY 4.0

JA8119 was a Japan Air Lines short-range 747 used on domestic routes. Its airframe history is central to understanding Flight 123: damage sustained years earlier, an improper structural repair, repeated pressurisation cycles and a later catastrophic failure.

Aircraft identity

  • Registration: JA8119
  • Variant: Boeing 747SR-46
  • Serial number: 20783
  • Operator history: Japan Air Lines domestic service; destroyed 12 August 1985
  • Record status: Lost

Aircraft history

Date or periodMilestone
Domestic serviceConfigured for high-capacity short routes within Japan. Source
2 June 1978A tail strike at Osaka damaged the aft fuselage and rear pressure bulkhead. Source
1978 repairA Boeing repair deviated from the specified splice arrangement, reducing the bulkhead's fatigue strength. Source
12 August 1985The bulkhead failed during Flight 123; tail damage and hydraulic losses preceded the crash. Of 524 aboard, 520 died and four survived. Source
1987 investigationThe Japanese report linked the failure to fatigue cracking from the improper repair. Source

What makes this aircraft important

The photograph records the actual aircraft on its final flight, after damage to its tail. For the accident sequence and resulting safety changes, use the linked detailed account.

Status and access

Aircraft destroyed; no complete surviving airframe. This is a dated historical or operator record; it is not a live location service. Read the confirming source.

Sources checked: 3 October 2026. Dates are as specific as the confirming source; an undated milestone is labelled as a period rather than given an invented day.

Key specifications
ManufacturerBoeing
Variant747SR-46
StatusLost

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the primary and institutional references below.

  1. Japan Airlines Flight 123, JA8119: lessons learned - Federal Aviation Administration
  2. JA8119 accident investigation report - Japan Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission

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