NEWARK – It was all a drill Saturday morning, but the scenario was all too real:
The Port Authority held a full-scale emergency drill Saturday involving two airplanes at Newark Liberty International Airport.
An incoming United Airlines flight had made a hard landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, skidded and crashed into a departing FedEx cargo plane, injuring numerous passengers.
Volunteer “passengers” covered in faux blood were sprawled on the ground around the planes while thick smoke drifted up from both aircraft. The FedEx plane, emergency responders learned, also was reported to have hazardous materials on board.
Now it was up to federal, state and local authorities and first responders to test how they coordinate extinguishing the fires, investigating the hazardous cargo and tending to the injured and dead.
“It’s creating a scenario that’s as real as the real thing and challenges them to use the same types of communication and responses that they would in a real scenario,” said Anthony Hayes, assistant director of media at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
“This is something that is a necessary item to make sure that we know what happens and everybody knows their duties in an actual emergency,” said Ramon Martinez, commanding officer of Newark Liberty International Airport and Teterboro Airport for the Port Authority Police. “It’s all about learning how to make it better.”
The Federal Aviation Administration requires that disaster drills be held every three years.
Saturday’s two-hour drill, sponsored by the Port Authority, involved 300 first responders, 150 volunteers, 100 support personnel, 30 mannequins and 80 vehicles.
Multiple agencies and companies were involved including Newark and Elizabeth firefighters; Essex and Union County emergency officials; State Police; the FBI; and the FAA.
The exercise’s estimated cost — which authorities placed at “under $200,000” — was funded with a Department of Homeland Security grant, Hayes said.
Normal airport operations were not disrupted by the drill, which was held at the FedEx ramp at the south end of the airport. Information was also distributed throughout the week to alert the public and pilots to not be concerned about the smoke and numerous emergency vehicles responding to the scene.
The drill bore some resemblance to a real emergency in February when a twin-engine jet had to make an emergency landing, forcing one of the country’s busiest airports to briefly close. The plane landed and skidded on the underside of the aircraft’s nose but no passengers were injured.
Here’s how the drill played out Saturday:
At 10 a.m., emergency responders were alerted that the United aircraft – coming from South America – was reporting problems three miles away. As it landed, the plane, which carried 150 passengers, skid and struck a departing FedEx cargo plane. The FedEx plane had 10 people on board and 15,000 pounds of cargo.
Port Authority fire trucks were the first to arrive on the scene of the two planes — positioned nose to nose — pretending to put out fires and rescue passengers. The United plane’s emergency chute was activated.
Hazmat crews from Union County and Port Authority police also set up a perimeter around the FedEx plane and contained the materials.
Shortly after, a line of ambulances rushed along the airfield to the area. The crews quickly assessed the severity of injuries to passengers, who wore make-up to simulate severe gashes and broken limbs and moaned for help.
Rebecca Kim, 19, of Carlstadt, was one of about 16 Rutgers University students who participated as an injured actor for her volunteer-management class.
“You volunteer for fundraisers but this is a totally different type of volunteering,” she said. “Nobody thinks to volunteer for this stuff.”
The exercise came just one day after the Transportation Security Administration moved to fire 25 airport employees and suspend 19 others for improper screening of checked luggage.
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