Firefighters and other emergency responders participated in a full-scale drill simulating an airplane collision yesterday at Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis.
The airport holds live drills every three years as required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
About half a dozen fire departments from the Cape participated, along with airport personnel, police, Cape Cod Hospital, the American Red Cross, Boston MedFlight, and more.
One of the airport’s two runways served as the medical triage station for the drill. About 28 mock passengers with simulated injuries received medical attention from local fire-rescue crews.
Firefighters cycled through different stations alongside the runway to practice their skills. Stations included a simulated fuselage, a real fire, and damaged vehicles for practicing extrication.
Incident commander John Puleo, a lieutenant at the Hyannis Fire Department, explained the fictional scenario: An Airbus jet had landed on the runway and collided with a propeller plane on the ground, leaving injured passengers in both.
“A plane collided with another plane here, while it was landing, and caught fire, basically,” he said. “And there were two other victims trapped in the other plane.”
Some of the mock victims were played by students from Massachusetts Military Academy and local high schools.
At one station, a shipping container had been turned into a simulated fuselage. Inside were airplane seats, dummies, and debris. One end of the container was open, draped with a tarp, to allow firefighters to make their way into the dark space to practice search and rescue.
Nearby, flames rose from a roll-off dumpster filled with burning pallets. Organizers of the drill said the fire would be put out and re-lit as different fire departments cycled through the drill.
Other stations that were part of the drill included an incident command center, a family assistance center for the families of accident victims, and Cape Cod Hospital, where some of the mock victims were taken by ambulance.
First responders and airport personnel didn’t know in advance what the scenario would be, so they had to make decisions as they received new information.
Communication among agencies is a big part of what they’re testing, said Airport Manager Katie Servis.
“They all come together to basically test the system,” she said, looking at “how we are able to put together an incident command center and work through the elements of an accident, were it to occur at the airport.”
The exercise ends with a debriefing to discuss lessons learned.
