SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — A plane on fire is a scary sight, but that’s exactly what the public will see at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport on Saturday. Fortunately, the flames are part of a planned emergency exercise.
“Every three years commercial service airports have to do a full-scale disaster drill, where we simulate a plane crash on the airport,” said Syracuse Regional Airport Authority Executive Director Jason Terreri.
The airport ran a small simulation of the drill Monday afternoon. A mock plane was lit on fire and a fire truck from Syracuse’s Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting team helped put out the flames. A longer simulation will take place Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and run into the afternoon.
The airport will rely on a propane tank to simulate a larger blaze, and more than a dozen local emergency services are preparing to respond.
“You’ll see ambulance companies out here, other fire departments coming to support,” Terreri said. “The Red Cross comes out to help with family reunification.”
Terreri said that the drills are not just to test the airport staff and procedures, but also their community partners who help provide aid. The Federal Aviation Administration will evaluate the simulation to determine if the airport met certain metrics in order to pass.
The Syracuse airport has not needed to respond to a real emergency on the ground since the last drill three years ago.
