HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — An aircraft accident or disaster is something you never want to happen, but it is essential to be prepared for the what-if.
This need to be prepared is why the Huntsville International Airport simulated what they call an alert three.
“An alert three is an actual aircraft crash or accident here at the airport or in the vicinity of the airport, and that would be a full response from our public safety team,” said Airport Chief of Public Safety Chris Scott.
Airport public safety had to put out a fire, all while attending to volunteers who acted as victims. Each “victim” had a lanyard listing out symptoms that would be possible in an airplane crash.
“I wanted to initially to do this because being a casualty and then seeing the other side of things with all of the emergency is really interesting to me,” said Keesha Hines. She works at the airport and volunteered as a victim.
Although it was a simulation, Madison firefighter Dillon Pool described what was going through his head during the drill.
“Keep your goals first and try to give the best care you can,” he said.
Airport Chief of Public Safety Chris Scott said they train extensively for these scenarios, but there is nothing like real, hands-on experience.
“Rarely do all of our different players and participants get to come together in an exercise of this size and work together as a team,” he said. “So really the communication, the collaboration piece between different agencies, it’s a great opportunity for us to practice that.”
The simulation is an FAA requirement that happens once every three years.
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