Wednesday, October 4, 2006
McCarran Airport Stages Mass
Casualty Drill
KLAS-TV Ch 8 (CBS), Las Vegas (NV)
The Federal
Aviation Administration put McCarran International Airport's emergency plan to
the test. Dozens of local fire, police, and emergency crews responded to a
simulated plane crash on the runway.
Once every three years, the FAA
requires U.S. airports to complete an exercise drill to maintain their
certification.
Tuesday, McCarran officials had to show how they would
respond to a real disaster.
The scene on the runway included a collision
between an airbus passenger jet carrying 60 people and a smaller private
aircraft carrying 9 people.
High school students from the Southern Nevada
Vocational Technical Center and area technical trade center posed as the victims
of the crash.
First responders contained the area around the accident and
went around assessing everyone's injuries before transporting them to area
hospitals.
Officials from the FBI, Metro, TSA, and the Joint Task Force
on Terrorism also participated because, since 9/11, all airplane crashes are
considered a terrorism act until proven otherwise.
Randall Walker,
director of the Clark County Department of Aviation, says the drills help to
improve communication between all responding agencies.
McCarran officials
hold smaller scale emergency drills every year to prepare for real
emergencies.
Walker says he is pleased with the way Tuesday's drill
turned out, but all the responding agencies still have to de-brief and determine
what areas will need improvement.
Click or paste the following link to view the video:
Mass Casualty Drill/Triennial Exercise
http://www.klas-tv.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=992376&h1=McCarran%20Airport%20Stages%20Mass%20Casualty%20Drill&vt1=v&at1=News
- Special
Coverage&d1=122333&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D5497310&rnd=42102946
Attached
Photo's:
McCarran Airport Stages Mass Casualty
Drill
