IIA mock exercise presumes burning plane on runway

CAA conducts emergency drill to check preparedness, coordination of responders

RAWALPINDI: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) conducted a full-scale mock Airport Emergency Exercise 2019 at Islamabad International Airport (IIA) this week to evaluate the operational efficiency of the responders and the level of preparedness and coordination in case of a mishap.

The exercise was aimed at testing the preparedness of all concerned agencies concerning aircraft accident or any other emergency according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards and the Crisis and Emergency Response Plan (CERP).

For simulation, CAA used a B-777 aircraft which was carrying 194 mock passengers and 12 member-staff. As part of the exercise the staff informed the air traffic control that the plane had caught fire after which an emergency was declared at the airport.

It was shown that the aircraft skid on the runway while landing while one of its wings broke off as a result of which some 40 passengers were shown to be injured while six were died.

Within seconds of receiving the information, fire brigade and paramedical staff of CAA were rushing to the site while other rescue institutions were summoned too which also made a timely entry.

The fire brigade put out the fire on the broken wing after which the rescue and evacuation of passengers from the aircraft began.

The critically injured were shifted to hospital via a helicopter while some were shifted through ambulances to the designated hospitals. The passengers sustaining minor injuries were given the medical aid at the airport.

The teams from Pakistan Army Aviation, Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Airport Security Force (ASF), Capital Development Authority (CDA), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and private airlines took part in the exercise. Ambulances of various city government hospitals and Edhi Foundation as well as volunteers also participated in the drill.

On the occasion, Rescue 1122 District Emergency Officer (DEO) Rescue 1122 Dr. Abdul Rehman, who was summoned as the drill referee, expressed satisfaction over the arrangements of emergency management at the country’s largest airport and declared it a successful mock exercise.

He said that such exercises helped in increasing the operational capacity of the emergency management departments.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2019.