Coffs Harbour Airport disaster drill tests emergency services | video
A plane with 74 passengers aboard crashes at Coffs Harbour Airport. That was the scenario - but emergency services responded as if it was real life.
Coffs Harbour
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Several emergency crews were called to Coffs Harbour Airport as part of a training exercise revealing how front line workers would respond to a major disaster.
The demonstration simulated a plane with 74 passengers crashing off the runway after experiencing a failure on take off.
Coffs Harbour Airport general manager Frank Mondello said the scenario pushed emergency services to their limits.
“The beauty of the exercise is that the crews aren’t sure of what they’re facing,” Mr Mondello said.
He said the simulation provided a chance to test how emergency services could respond to such incidents.
Mr Mondello said unpredictable conditions play a major role in aviation safety.
During the demonstration, emergency services needed to think on their feet as the wind direction shifted.
“The conditions can change very quickly,” Mr Mondello said.
Police arrived on scene for the scenario and a forward control van was set up as the major point of communication.
Each emergency service, such as the fire agencies, function off the police hub in a major incident like this.
Part of the demonstration included angry relatives reacting to losing loved ones, testing how police respond to calm and control crowds.
On Sunday, emergency services responded after a truck crashed through Sawtell’s busy strip.
Coffs Harbour experienced tragedy in 2019, when father and son Jeffrey, 59, and Matthew Hills, 25, died when their plane crashed into high terrain in Dorrigo National Park.
Jeffrey was the pilot with his son Matthew the sole passenger on the early morning flight from Murwillumbah to Taree.
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