Plane crash drill at Tri-Cities Airport tests dozens of emergency responders
Just after 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, the region’s emergency scanner called out a plane crash at the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco.
Thankfully, there wasn’t an actual crash.
It was an alert for an emergency drill. Multiple local first responder teams were getting ready to practice what would happen if a plane crash landed at the airport.
Those local emergency teams partnered with Tri-Tech’s emergency and medical services program for the drill.
This year, 77 high school students from the Tri-Cities, Burbank, Connell and Prosser roleplayed as injured plane crash victims. The students are all enrolled in Tri-Tech’s emergency and medical services program while they attend high school.
Students can receive their EMS and EMT training through the program.
Tri-Tech instructor Nathen Allington has worked for the skills center since 2007. Since then, Tri-Tech students have been part of the emergency exercises. He’s also a firefighter at Benton County Fire District 1.
Allington said that the exercise exposes students to what they may see if they work in the field and helps them decide whether they’ll pursue a career in emergency services.
His students also roleplay for emergency drills at the Walla Walla Regional Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration requires the Pasco airport to practice a full-scale emergency response exercise every three years to ensure it’s compliant. It mirrors the type of response if there was an engine failure or fire.
Each Tri-Tech student was assigned signs and symptoms of different injuries. Some wore realistic makeup meant to look like blood, wounds and bruises.
Then firefighters and emergency medical staff triaged each person, tagging them with green, yellow or red cards depending on the severity of their injuries, to prioritize care.
A school bus replaced an airplane. Some students were carried out of the bus to safety.
The drill is planned months ahead of time. This year’s emergency scenario was a plane crash caused by a drone strike.
Pasco Deputy Fire Chief Chris Mortensen told the Tri-City Herald that drone collisions have become more common, especially when drone pilots fly near protected airspace, such as airports.
Several local emergency service teams were involved in the drill:
- Pasco Fire Department
- Richland Fire Department
- Kennewick Fire Department
- Franklin County Emergency Management
- Franklin County Sheriff’s Office
- Pasco Police Department
- Port of Pasco
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Transportation Security Administration
