LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PRACTICES EMERGENCY RESPONSE WITH FULL-SCALE SIMULATION OF AIRCRAFT DISASTER
(Los Angeles, California – April 24, 2013) Nearly 300 people participated in a full-scale, simulated aircraft disaster today that tested the operational capability and readiness of Los Angeles International Airport’s (LAX’s) emergency management system. The two-hour, unrehearsed exercise is Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirement to be conducted at least once every three years. The LAX Air Exercise (AirEx) tests emergency responders and mutual-aid providers in a real-time, stress-filled environment in which personnel, equipment and other resources are mobilized and deployed.
The LAX AirEx was conducted from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the restricted airfield adjacent to the LAX Imperial Terminal/Flight Path Learning Center. More than 300 participants – including 100 volunteers in moulage (castings/molds and makeup applied to simulate injuries) -- role played accident victims and family members to help create a more immediate situation.
More than 20 organizations participated, including: Los Angeles World Airports (LAX Airport Operations, Los Angeles Airport Police, Facilities Management Group, Public Relations, Risk Management, and Emergency Management); Los Angeles Fire Department; Los Angeles Police Department; Federal Aviation Administration; National Transportation Safety Board; Transportation Security Administration; American Red Cross; Federal Bureau of Investigation; U.S. Customs & Border Protection; and the Los Angeles City Emergency Management Department.
“This air exercise provides LAX and our partner agencies the opportunity to practice and refine emergency procedures necessary for handling an aircraft disaster,” said John Kinney, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) director for Emergency Management. “This training greatly enhances our responders' ability to integrate quickly in a unified effort to save lives, fight fire, contain hazards, preserve evidence, assist victims' families, inform the public, and begin an investigation."
Los Angeles Fire Department Assistant Chief Timothy Manning said, “This important training allows emergency service providers to hone their skills in responding to major incidents in a professional and coordinated effort, providing for immediate care in any instances that may threaten and endanger lives.”
The objectives of LAX AirEx 2013 included: testing the efficiency of inter-agency and inter-departmental planning and coordination in managing an airport disaster; testing current procedures of the Airport Emergency Plan using responses under a unified command to satisfy federal requirements; and determining strengths and weaknesses in the integration of response resources with the goal toward improving individual agency and overall emergency responses.
Although the FAA requires U.S. airports to conduct a full-scale exercise at least once every three years, LAX officials also regularly conduct airport-wide, table-top exercises using various emergency scenarios that may occur. Today's LAX AirEx 2013 simulation involved an aircraft that experienced an in-flight mechanical failure for which the pilot requested an emergency landing and the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower activated emergency procedures. Upon landing, the aircraft notionally crashed and broke into several pieces, causing catastrophic structural damage, as well as a fire explosion. Besides many fatalities, there was widespread, simulated panic and injuries among survivors.
The on-airfield scene included a static Boeing 777 aircraft and a large "debris field" of salvaged aircraft parts; a pyrotechnic display to simulate explosion and fire; 100 mock victims located throughout the exercise zone; fire, law- enforcement and airport operations responders; medical triage; ambulance and helicopter transport of victims; hazard containment; etc.
About Los Angeles International Airport
LAX is the sixth busiest airport in the world and third in the United States, offering 680 daily
flights to 96 domestic cities and 930 weekly nonstop flights to 59 cities in 30 countries on 63 commercial air carriers. It ranks 14th in the world and fifth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed. In 2012, LAX served nearly 63.7 million passengers, processed over 1.9 million tons of air cargo valued at nearly $89.6 billion, and handled 605,480 aircraft operations (landings and takeoffs). An economic impact study in 2011 reported that operations at LAX generated 294,400 jobs in Los Angeles County with labor income of $13.6 billion and economic output of more than $39.7 billion. This activity added $2.5 billion to local and state revenues. LAX is part of a system of three Southern California airports – along with LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.
