PHOTOS: The Emergency Services Simulation At Malta’s Airport That Dealt With A Crash Landing
Last night the Malta International Airport’s aircraft emergency exercise was carried out to assess the level of preparedness of key stakeholders that would be mobilised in the event of a real-life accident at the airport.
The simulated event was the crash landing of a B737-800 aircraft that was considered as travelling from Genoa. In the training scenario the flight had 74 passengers and 6 crew members on board. While flying over Sicily the crew report a major hydraulic problem and a full emergency is declared on land.
This is where the Emergency Response Plan kicks in.
The would-be hard landing of the aircraft causes the wheels of the plan to collapse entirely under its own weight and this in turn causes the aircraft to veer off the runway. As is expected in the event of such an unfortunate accident, there are a number of injured passengers on the flight, many in critical condition. To further test the emergency plan there are also a few fatalities reported on the ground.
Once the situation has been announced other emergency teams are called in. From Mater Dei Hospital to the Rapid Intervention Department, Malta International Airport’s team liaise with all the neessary bodies as they would in a real-life situation.
The first step involved cordoning off the entire accident area as fire fighters are called in first. A collection area is then set up for injured and uninjured passengers and crew, along with a decontamination area.
Aside from working closely with key stakeholders in any emergency scenario, the whole exercise was also possible thanks to a group of actors and
volunteers who participated in the exercise by taking the roles of affected passengers and allowing first
responders to practice important processes such as triage, treatment and transportation.
Malta International Airport carries out emergency exercises on different levels on a regular basis, in
order to keep improving its Airport Emergency Response Plan and response capabilities.
