The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said its recent emergency response capability and preparedness exercise over the weekend was a success.
MIAA Officer-in-Charge Bryan Co said the successful demonstration of this year’s full-scale simulated emergency made them ensure that the prescribed plans, guidelines, and organizational setup of the Airport Emergency Plan 2023 adequately and effectively address emergencies occurring at or within the immediate vicinity of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
During the simulation dubbed as Crash Rescue Exercise (CREX) held last Friday at the General Aviation Area of NAIA, there were eight “fatalities” under what the MIAA described as “Code Black”, which means that a runway or an aerodrome is not usable for other reasons than cloud and/or visibility.
The code means that the runway might be closed for some type of aircraft (i.e. jet aircraft) and remains open for other types (i.e. helicopter).
“A dependable communication and coordination system is essential for a responsive Airport Emergency Plan (AEP). This exercise puts our communication and coordination system to the test, not only among MIAA offices but also with our external partner agencies,” said Co.
“We want to assess primary and secondary responders’ ability to respond to an aircraft crash and the resulting mass casualty event, including rescue and fire suppression, treatment and transport of survivors, and crash site security. The exercise also validates the methods for shifting from an emergency situation to normal airport operations following a potential major incident,” he added.
The scenario for CREX 2023 involved a commercial aircraft bound for Subic, CREX flight #0000, carrying 76 passengers and four crew members, that suffered a left engine malfunction during the take-off run after a flock of domestic pigeons crossing the runway was ingested into the aircraft’s number one (left) engine, causing the aircraft to crash.
The aircraft lost thrust on its number one engine during take-off. The pilot attempted to abort the take-off, but the aircraft veered off the runway and came to a stop on the western portion. A fire broke out on the left wing. In this mock incident, there were 80 casualties, with 72 survivors and eight deceased.
In addition to the standard fire suppression, medical, emergency response, and search and rescue activities, this year’s CREX edition featured the activation of Cebu Pacific’s Accident Site Go Team, marking the first time MIAA partnered with an airline.
“Cebu Pacific prioritizes safety and has established processes when it comes to emergency response. We thank the MIAA for the opportunity for us to train together to help ensure that communication systems are in place in the event of a multi-agency response,” said Cebu Pacific President and Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao.
He added the airline demonstrated its emergency response, particularly in providing support to victims as well as processing and cross-matching victims and family members.
The CREX is held to continuously meet security standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In compliance with ICAO’s Suggested and Recommended Practices, the CREX is held every two years, but the full-scale exercise may not be conducted if the airport’s emergency plan was activated.
The last full-scale CREX was on October 19, 2017. Several actual aircraft incidents in the succeeding years then brought to fore MIAA’s emergency response capabilities.
In Aug. 16, 2018, a Xiamen Air plane overshot the main runway that paralysed airport and airlines operations and brought confusion and inconvenience among passengers.
Airport and aviation personnel took 36 hours to remove the disabled plane of Xiamen Air.
The crane used in removing the Xiamen aircraft was rented or leased by the authority from a private hotel nearby in the amount of P4 million. Joel E. Zurbano