First responders take part in plane crash simulation at airport

Imagine a plane crash happening right here in Kalispell. A plane with nearly 50 people crashing near an airstrip, rather than landing on it. People with varying degrees of injuries, confused, hurt and in need of help. The plane catches fire and some are still unable to move from their injuries — unable to get to safety. Who would respond? And how?

That’s what roughly 200 people from 27 emergency response agencies throughout the valley gathered at Glacier Park International Airport yesterday to practice.

In a simulated plane crash drill, paramedics, firefighters and EMTs ran through the plan of action in the event that a plane crash were to happen. Per the Federal Aviation Administration, airports throughout the country are required to run through this disaster drill once every three years.

On Saturday, 48 volunteers acted out the part of the injured victims in the simulated crash. The volunteers, wearing yellow shirts labeling them as passengers, were spread throughout the impact zone. A small Glacier Charters bus served as the plane’s fuselage, and while some of the passengers were still inside, most of the victims were outside.

First on scene was an airport rescue vehicle. A responder with a megaphone approached the chaotic scene, calling out to the wounded with the instruction “If you can walk, come this way.”

Volunteers had been given cards earlier in the day with a list of their injuries — varying from bumps, bruises and sprained ankles to broken limbs, and severe head and chest injuries. Those who could walk were quickly moved to a tent nearby, while other victims continued to act out their injuries, crying out in pain or shock.

A fire response team came shortly after, spraying water toward the fuselage to put out the simulated fire. Firefighters wearing respirators then went through the process of clearing out the fuselage, removing those who were still inside.

Responders from local fire departments, hospitals and the ALERT helicopter one by one made their way out to Gate 14, the site of the crash, to play their part in the simulation.

After moving the victims to safety, responders began to triage them — assessing their injuries to determine which injuries needed to be dealt with first. They placed the most severely injured on a red tarp and began treating them immediately. Those with injuries that did not require immediate action were placed on a yellow tarp to wait.

Among the 48 victims there were also several mannequins, playing the part of passengers who had died in the crash or from the resulting fire.

“The purpose of the drill is to test certain areas of our response plan,” said airport director Rob Ratkowski. “In the 13 years that I’ve been here, we’ve never had a fatality at the airport.”

In the years when the airport doesn’t do a full-scale drill, responders get together for a table-top exercise, where they talk through the process to make sure everyone has a handle on the procedure.

The plane crash simulation is only one of the drills the airport is required to do, Ratkowski said, noting that security drills are also done on a regular, rotating schedule.

Going into the simulation, responders know very little, only that a crash has occurred. For the purpose of the simulation they are unable to produce flames, but they’ve been told that there is also a fire. Responders don’t know how many victims there will be or what injuries they will have, and it’s up to them to figure it out and respond accordingly.

This year between the 27 agencies, 47 victims were transported in an hour and 42 minutes — with responders taking them to North Valley Hospital. Kalispell Regional Medical Center was unable to take part in yesterday’s simulation, so another point was set up to represent the drop-off for victims taken to KRMC.

Also used during the simulation was a new equipment trailer that the airport recently purchased. The trailer, which is tailored specifically to the needs of aircraft incidents, contains many of the same supplies that responding agency vehicles carry, but is kept onsite for easy access and quick response.

“This is a community effort,” Ratkowski said. “These longstanding, very healthy relationships between agencies make it possible.”

Reporter Alyssa Gray may be reached at 758-4433 or agray@dailyinterlake.com.