Emergency exercise at the airport: emergency services test reactions in aircraft collision
Emergency exercise at the airport: emergency services test reactions in aircraft collision
An impressive scenario recently took place at the airport when an aircraft collided with a fully occupied passenger bus on the roller field. Julian Jäger, board member of the airport, explained that such incidents do not occur every day, but they can still happen regularly. "That is why it is important that our emergency services are well prepared," he said. In the exercise, the worst-case scenario was played through, in which the plane opened in flames and numerous injuries were provided.
A crucial element of the exercise was the reaction time of the fire brigade, which should be a maximum of three minutes before it was allowed to start deleting. Testing the processes and communication channels showed certain defects, but the goal of such an exercise is to recognize exactly these weaknesses. Roland Pachner, the head of operations of the airport fire brigade, found that the access of external forces lasted too long, which is a improvement point, but on the whole he was satisfied with the results.
extensive emergency measures
an iron dummy was used for the exercise, which served as a burning aircraft. A yellow exercise hull was positioned around this dummy, from which rescue measures were tested. Employees of the airport and members of the "Airport Friends Vienna" association acted as injured passengers. A temporary hospital was set up on the roller field to treat the injured. Every two years such large exercises are mandatory for the airport. The last exercise had a completely different topic, namely an answer to a terrorist threat.
"If such an incident happens in the central area of the airport, the far -reaching consequences and flight operations could be set for several hours," explained Jäger. His colleague Günther Ofner added that a well -organized alarm chain is running behind the scenes, which both the emergency services and corporate management takes.
victim identification and communication
Especially in the case of such accidents, relatives must also be informed. Christoph Seitlinger, the head of operations at the airport, explained that a contact center would be set up to pass on information quickly. The identification of passengers from the accident bus or plane takes place as early as possible during the supply on the roller field. This exercise was of great importance for many airlines, since 40 representatives of various organizations were present as observers. The exercise started at 11:00 a.m. and took about two hours and offered the present valuable insights into the emergency procedures at the airport.