JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Emergency crews from across Northeast Florida rehearsed their response to a midair-style disaster at Jacksonville International Airport, staging a mock collision between a diverted international airliner and a military F-35 jet.
The exercise drew 25 agencies, among them Jacksonville Fire and Rescue and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, plus more than 250 volunteers who played injured passengers and, later, anxious relatives waiting for news. Crews fought a staged fire and worked through victims wearing makeup wounds and prosthetics. Fire and rescue teams treated and moved 174 people during the scenario, according to the Jacksonville Aviation Authority.
Aviation Authority emergency preparedness manager Meaghan Smalley said it was the biggest aviation disaster drill held at the airport in 15 years. Planning took about nine months. Travelers got advance notice through social media and signs in the terminal so the activity would not cause alarm, and nine therapy dogs brought in by a Tri-State K-9 Response Team crew helped keep stand-in family members calm.
The drill is not optional. Federal Aviation Administration rules require every airport holding a Class I operating certificate to run a full-scale emergency plan exercise at least once in each 36-month span, and Jacksonville’s runs on that three-year cycle.
Organizers now plan to review how the day went, note what worked and what did not, and revise the region’s emergency plans so agencies coordinate better if a real crash ever happens. Smalley said the drill also gives responders from different agencies a chance to meet and swap contact information before an actual emergency.
Section: More Jacksonville FL crime news
Filed under: Jacksonville FL Public Safety News
