Simulated plane crash at Lincoln Airport prepares local agencies plan for emergencies

Smoke pouring out of the bus and fire crews standing by looks like something out of a movie set, but this is no set.

Tuesday morning dozens of volunteers along with half of a dozen emergency response agencies participated in a disaster simulation at the Lincoln Airport.

“What we’re doing is simulating a commercial aircraft accident, there’s no aircraft here, we’re utilizing buses and things like that, just a lot of imagination, then there will be response agencies,” said David Haring, the executive director of the Lincoln Airport.

Airport emergency preparedness drills are required by the Federal Aviation Administration and have to be conducted every three years.

The scenario that played out at the Lincoln Airport was that of two commercial jets colliding on the runway.

Volunteers donned makeup and fake blood to play the roles of victims.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue, Lincoln Police Department, and several other agencies including the local hospitals all participated in the exercise.

More than responding to the victims every department had to figure out how to communicate.

“As agencies we kind of all do our own thing, we all function as well oiled machines within our own agencies,” said Lincoln Fire and Rescue Public Information Officer Nancy Cist.

Functioning independently during a disaster– even a simulated one, is not an option.

A command center was set up inside the airport where people from each department managed crews on the ground and coordinated with each other.

Everything from transporting the injured, to alerting family, to how to handle the media was discussed and planned for.

The coordinated effort is exactly the outcome the airport hoped to achieve during the simulation to be ready in the event of a real emergency.

“When a mass causality incident occurs or really any incident occurs the volume of communication that is taking place is among the agencies can be tremendous and so the ability to make sure those are ironed out in advance of an unfortunate actual emergency,” Haring said.