Japan Airlines gets first woman president following a fatal plane collision during the holidays

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japan Airlines has named Mitsuko Tottori as its first woman president following a collision between one of its planes and a coast guard aircraft during Japanese New Year holidays that left five dead. Tottori — currently senior managing executive officer of JAL and the first woman to climb the ranks from cabin attendant to the company’s new head —  vowed Wednesday to stick to her commitment to aviation safety. She will take office in April and replace JAL president and CEO Yuji Akasaka, who will take over as chairman. Tottori’s appointment came two weeks after the fatal collision at Tokyo’s busy Haneda airport that was mostly seen as a result of human error.