Airport crash response up to world standards

Beating the three-minute international standard for aircraft crash response, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) showed off the readiness of the emergency teams at the country’s premier airport.

Thursday morning’s Crash and Rescue Exercise (CREX) showcased the MIAA’s emergency response capability in the event of a plane crash, one week before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit.

The scenario: A Palawan-bound aircraft, carrying 70 passengers and six crew, suffers a left engine malfunction after takeoff from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The pilot loses control and the plane crashes in the aviation support area near the West Service Road in Parañaque City and bursts into flames.

In the “crash,” 19 passengers are killed and 46 are injured.

The fire in the wreckage was quickly put out by responding MIAA rescue and fire-fighting units, allowing for the immediate extrication of the passengers. Medical teams set up tents and color-coded areas to treat casualties, depending on the gravity of their injuries.

An area, far from the treatment zone and marked with a black flag, was designated for the bodies recovered from the aircraft.

Some casualties were airlifted out on a Philippine Air Force emergency helicopter.  Personnel of the Airport Police Department and Aviation Security Group cordoned off and preserved the crash site for investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Finally, mopping up operations were conducted to make sure all passengers and crew were accounted for.

According to MIAA senior assistant general manager Vicente Guerzon Jr., who led the evaluation team, the CREX was generally excellent although some “minor” adjustments needed to be made.

He noted the response time of the fire-fighting unit was under two minutes, faster than the three-minute standard of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the entire exercise was completed in 37 minutes.

Guerzon said the minor lapses observed by the evaluation team could easily be corrected. Among these were the recovery of bodies by rescuers in fire proximity or asbestos suits from the aircraft before the rescue of casualties; the slow setup of medical tents; the erroneous placement of the police cordon; and the absence of airline representatives on the ground.

“These are just minor lapses that can be corrected because these are just people that need adjustment. We would have to slightly modify the doctrine,” he said.

He said the CREX was conducted in compliance with ICAO Annex 14 which provides for a plan covering “the coordination and implementation of actions to be taken in an emergency situation occurring within or in the vicinity of an airport.”

“Our ambulance category is 9, meaning we are capable of undertaking rescue in wider aircraft like a Boeing 747.  We also have the required number of fire trucks and ambulances and sufficient water supply,” the MIAA official said.  A Boeing 747 or jumbo jet can carry 500 passengers.