If airplane crashed into vehicle, how would Salisbury airport respond? Simulation tests it

On a rain-soaked Saturday morning, volunteers, first responders and officials made their way to the Salisbury Regional Airport to take part in a triennial disaster exercise.

The exercise is run in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations while ensuring the highest level of preparedness in the event of an emergency, and is a standard practice for airports across the country.

Every three years the exercise is run at the Salisbury airport, with the emergency response plan going under review each year.

Tony Rudy, Salisbury airport director, said the review and practice allows the airport staff to interact with mutual aid partners and gives an opportunity for emergency personnel to gain experience if a real event were to take place.

The practice scenario Saturday morning was for a plane hitting a vehicle on the runway. A controlled fire was placed just off the runway, with a minivan further away for crews to respond to.

To further replicate an emergency, situation mutual aid partners like Parsonsburg and Salisbury first responders were staged at Purdue Stadium. They were sent at varying times to replicate the time it would normally take from their stations.

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"I think the initial response went pretty well. We had our aircraft rescue firefighter out there within a reasonable amount of time, and they responded pretty much almost immediately. I think they were on scene within less than two minutes, extinguishing the fire that we had set up and responding to what was on the runway," he said.

Because of the rain the exercise was run in two different places. The volunteer passengers were taken to a hangar to board the plane. There the volunteers acted with various injuries so first responders could experience helping them from the aircraft.

The greatest impact in running the exercise is knowing what to do in a real emergency. With airplanes there are many passengers on board, which requires a lot of resources, ambulances, rescue crews and fire crews.

"We need the support because we just don't have the manpower to take care of it on our own," Rudy said.

It wasn't just the airport that was training. TidalHealth and Atlantic General Hospital also joined it. Some of the volunteers were selected as injured passengers that would need to be taken to one of the hospitals.

"Getting a big influx of people in a short amount of time really tests their ability to take care of that," Rudy said.

Now that the exercise is done the airport will review and continue to stay prepared if an emergency should happen.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Salisbury airport simulates airplane-vehicle crash to test readiness