The Japanese government-appointed investigation team concluded in their report , issued two years later , that there was no fault in the airport 's control tower . They stated the cause was pilot error , while acknowledging that poor visibility could have caused an optical illusion that confused the pilot . The probable cause statement was that the " Pilot misjudged landing approach under unusually difficult weather conditions . " This accident was one of five fatal aircraft disasters — four commercial and one military — in Japan in 1966 . Less than 24 hours later , BOAC Flight 911 , a Boeing 707 , taxied past the still smoldering wreckage of the DC-8 , then broke up in flight shortly after departure when it encountered extreme clear-air turbulence in the lee of Mount Fuji while flying the opposite direction towards Hong Kong , killing all 124 passengers and crew . This brought the total death toll from both accidents in the Tokyo area to 188 , then a record for a 24-hour period
BOAC Flight 911
BOAC Flight 911
Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 402