Here is a very informative article on aircraft emergency evacuations, particularly the case of the recent JAL 516 where all passengers and crew were able to evacuate the burning aircraft.

Tamura, Y. (January 7, 2024) “Why the Evacuation of 379 Passengers from the Burning JAL516 Wasn’t a Miracle,”  Medium, https://medium.com/japonica-publication/why-the-evacuation-of-379-passengers-from-the-jal-collision-wasnt-a-miracle-8a03cb02a95c [Last accessed: 3/4/2024]

To quote from the article:

“Japan is said to have become earthquake-resilient over the decades, but it’s less known that the same applies to aircraft accidents.

As the oldest Japanese airline company partially founded by the government in 1951, the history of JAL encapsulates the narrative of Japan’s aviation industry, punctuated by significant accidents.

It is none other than JAL that experienced the worst-ever airplane crash in the world. In 1985, JAL123 crashed into a mountain approximately 100 km from Tokyo.
The crash, believed to have been triggered by improper maintenance of the aft pressure bulkhead, caused 520 fatalities, the largest loss of life in a single aircraft.

A former JAL employee comments that those who have survived traumatic incidents often grapple with returning to their duties in the sky. Despite this difficulty, they also carry a deep sense of responsibility to impart their experiences to younger crew members, contributing to the commitment to safety.

I agree that the successful evacuation was not a miracle but a product of the training and dedication of the staff as well as the culture and behavior that was very obviously Japanese. One wonders what could have happened if this were, say, an airliner from a third world country? Or perhaps even one from a country like the US? Would the evacuation have been successful like JL516’s?

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