On board were 6 flight crew ( 3 of them backup crew ) , 7 cabin crew , 1 employee of Japan Airlines , and 62 passengers ( of whom 52 were Japanese ) . All except for 5 flight attendants and 9 passengers perished , which made 62 fatalities . All survivors were seated near first-class seats located in the front section of the fuselage , suffering severe injuries . Eight of the surviving passengers were Japanese ; the other was E. Bruce Smith of New Zealand . The aircraft involved , JA8040 , was delivered on July 1969 , and written off less than 3.5 years after its delivery , thus being the most short-lived among Japan Airlines ' DC-8s . This aircraft was noted for previous involvement in several major incidents : with the nickname '' Hida '' , it was used to carry passengers involved in the hijack of Japan Airlines Flight 351 back to Japan in April 1970 ; on November 6 , 1972 , 22 days before the crash , this plane was offered to the hijackers of the JA351 hijack in response to their demand to flee to Cuba , although they were ultimately arrested at Haneda Airport
Japan Airlines Flight 351
Japan Airlines Flight 351
Japan Airlines Flight 446