"Exercise in preparedness conducted at San Jose, California airport"

Thursday, March 13, 2003

Exercise in preparedness conducted at S.J. airport
By Rodney Foo
The San Jose (CA) Mercury News


Wednesday was something of a disaster at Mineta San Jose International
Airport.

Happily, no one was injured. But many were made to appear burned, bruised
and bloodied for the airport's periodic disaster drill, a mock airliner
crash designed to test the emergency response of the airport, fire
department, police and medical personnel.

The drill relies on dozens of volunteers. This year it drew from a crop of
Mission College fire technology students as well as workers from United
Defense and the airlines.

Fire science student Bryan Bentley was one of 61 crash ``victims.''

Bentley and about 20 other students gathered at 9 a.m. inside a FedEx
trailer at the north edge of the airfield to subject themselves to a victim
``makeover'' at the hands of their college instructor, San Jose fire Capt.
Joe Roberts.

Roberts rouged the right side of Bentley's face and neck to simulate
third-degree burns. A black stain around the edges imitated scorching. The
pièce de résistance was a thin layer of frayed tissue paper coated with
Vaseline that eerily mimicked peeling skin.

``It's pretty impressive,'' Bentley, 32, marveled as he assessed Roberts'
work in a men's room mirror. ``He was telling us he could do this, but I
didn't think it'd be this good.''

The full-scale drills, required under federal aviation law, aren't taken
lightly.

``One of the best things about exercises like this is we have an opportunity
to test a lot of systems,'' Mayor Ron Gonzales said.

The disaster scenario called for an arriving American Airlines Boeing 767
with 61 people aboard to overrun Runway 30 Right, crash, and come to rest in
a cargo area. Crews used a smoke generator to simulate fire on one wing. (A
real cargo plane was used to simulate a passenger aircraft.)

Among the casualties were 11 dead, including the crew captain, and 36 with
serious to minor injuries. The victims were instructed not to divulge the
nature or gravity of their wounds so emergency medical personnel would have
to accurately assess their injuries.

The victims, including two badly burned mothers carrying their babies
(actually dolls), left the jet as airport firetrucks with flashing red
lights arrived. The victims collapsed.

Acting Fire Chief Dale Foster said fire personnel weren't hurrying Wednesday
as they normally would at a major incident because they wanted to avoid an
accident during the drill.

As fire, police and medical personnel reacted to the scene, a bevy of city
officials watched from stands erected for the occasion. The San Jose Office
of Emergency Services and the Santa Clara County Fire Department were also
evaluating the drill.

Meanwhile, in Terminal A, American Airlines personnel handled fictitious
relatives and friends of the victims who arrived at ticket counters to
inquire about the ``doomed'' flight. The actors were taken to another
building, where authorities and airport chaplains provided counseling.

Afterward, in assessing the drill, one improvement was suggested: installing
a repeater on site for volunteer ham radio operators to act as an auxiliary
communication group.

Overall, airport and emergency officials received high marks. ``The field
response was extremely well-executed,'' said Frannie Edwards-Winslow, city
emergency services director. ``The coordination between airport personnel,
police and fire went very well.''

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