Triennial Disaster Exercise Hosted

Hector International Airport hosted its triennial mock disaster exercise Thursday morning to test the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Airport Emergency Plan.

The scenario played out was that an inbound commercial aircraft collided with a military aircraft during an aerial demonstration.  The commercial aircraft attempted to land and crashed sliding into the eastern portion of the airport property.  The NDANG fire training simulator was utilized to create the realism of an actual crash.

The purpose of the exercise is to put into practice the airport emergency plan and test its effectiveness in the event of an aircraft accident on the airport. The exercise had approximately 80 real and virtual crash victims. The plan tests all aspects of an accident from the initial fire department response of extinguishing fires and rescuing victims.

In total, approximately 100 emergency personnel took part in this exercise. The North Dakota Air National Guard Fire Department and other mutual aid agencies including; Fargo Fire and Police Department, FM Ambulance, TSA, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, EVAC, MeritCare and Innovis Hospitals, and the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower.

The next full-scale exercise will be held in the spring of 2012.