On 30 July 1971, at 02:04 local time, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-86F Sabre jet fighter collided with the Boeing 727 airliner operating the flight, causing both aircraft to crash.

[5] The JASDF aircraft, belonging to the 1st Air Wing at Matsushima Airbase,[4] was a Mitsubishi F-86F Sabre, a Japanese-built version of North American Aviation's famous fighter jet, with tail number 92-7932.

[6] Of the passengers, 125 were in a tour group made up of members of a society for relatives of Japanese servicemen killed in World War II.

[5] Meanwhile, JASDF Technical Sergeant Yoshimi Ichikawa, 22-year-old trainee pilot and Captain Tamotsu Kuma, his 31-year-old instructor, were practicing air combat manoeuvring in their two Sabres near Morioka, northern Honshu.

The damage to the Boeing's tail caused it to go out of control; it entered a steep dive and disintegrated in mid-air, the wreckage impacting near the town of Shizukuishi in Iwate Prefecture.

The Sabre, having lost its right wing, entered a spin that prevented the trainee pilot from ejecting, so he unbuckled his safety belts and freed himself from the aircraft.