LA/ONTARIO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT HOLDS AIREX 2007 EMERGENCY RESPONSE EXERCISE
(Ontario, Calif., -- April 4, 2007) LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT) will hold a simulated, unrehearsed, full-scale aircraft incident drill designed to test ONT’s Emergency Plan.
Approximately 100 participants from the ONT Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Department (ARFF); ONT Airfield Operations; ONT Airport Police; Ontario City Fire and Police Departments; federal aviation and law enforcement agencies; American Red Cross; local area hospital emergency rooms, medical units, and ambulance services; other mutual-aid organizations; Southwest Airlines emergency response teams will actively engage in the exercise. In addition, Los Angeles World Airports divisions including construction and maintenance, public relations, ground transportation, and risk management will also participate.
This exercise is required under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations to be conducted at least once every three years to evaluate the operational capability of the airport’s emergency management system in a real-time, stress environment, in which personnel, equipment and materiel are mobilized and deployed.
This event is being staged to ensure readiness in case of an emergency and to comply with Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) 139, which requires commercial air carrier airports to develop and maintain emergency plans,” said ONT Airport Manager Jess Romo.
The simulated exercise will begin after two passenger jets collide on a runway causing debris from the collision to impact a large portion of the tarmac. Emergency response and resources are applied for firefighting, rescue, triage for the injured, dispatch of injured by ambulance and helicopter, fatalities, airline assistance for family and friends, security and control of the incident perimeter, and other contingencies as they develop during the unrehearsed exercise.
For the exercise today, Southwest Airlines personnel will practice the activation of its family assistance program in this real-time setting.
Of the total participants, over 90 volunteers have signed up to serve as "victims." Additionally, representatives from the airport-wide community, as well from other airports, are expected to observe the full-scale exercise.
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) is a self-supporting department of the City of Los Angeles, which owns and operates a system of four airports: Los Angeles International (LAX), LA/Ontario International (ONT), LA/Palmdale Regional (PMD), and Van Nuys (VNY). In 2006, LAWA’s four airports handled 68 million passengers and 2.7 million tons of cargo a year. In addition, LAWA’s airports contribute to an employment base – directly and indirectly – of more than 470,000 people and generate nearly U.S. $67 billion annually for the regional economy.
