Air Disaster Drill Practices Siouxland's Preparedness
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It's been nearly 20 years since United flight 232 crashed in Sioux City. Now, all these years later, emergency workers training for another kind of air disaster.
Thursday's disaster drill at the Sioux Gateway airport practiced a very different, though very timely scenario - an air show gone wrong with a passenger plane crashing into a crowd of spectators.
The Air National Guard's 185th Air Refueling Wing is hoping to host an Air And Ag Expo August 1st and 2nd. Thursday's drill helps them meet requirements for a full scale disaster drill needed in order to host the air show. It also certifies the Sioux Gateway Airport with the FAA for disaster preparedness for the next three years.
A disaster of this scale would overwhelm the 185th's fire department, that's why they called on first responders from all over Siouxland to help out.
"We rely heavily on mutual aid responders to provide ambulance transport for victims. We need additional firefighters to assist on the scene. We may need water shuttled to the scene if we're out on the airfield, we don't have fire hydrants available," said Chief Master Sgt. Michael Albrecht, Fire Chief of the 185th's Fire Department.
In all, the scenario had 20 pretend victims in full make-up enacting a multitude of injuries from minor to fatal.
First responders worked cooperatively with airmen, some with little or no medical training, to make sure victims got immediate assistance. The bulk of the drill was completed in about 15 minutes, giving the airmen plenty of hands-on experience in dealing with disasters.
"I would say that the shock of a real event like this happening would obviously be pretty intense, but it definitely helps to practice situations like this just to know that you can help and know how to assist the others," said Staff Sergeant Melissa Keith, a boom operator for the 185th.
Exercise evaluators were also on scene today to look for weak spots in the disaster response so emergency crews can fine tune their disaster protocols.
Not only does the airport run these drills every three years, there's also a Tri-State Disaster Committee that started meeting monthly after the crash of Flight 232 to make sure disaster efforts in Siouxland are well coordinated.
Sunday, July 19th marks the 20th anniversary of Flight 232's crash. Be sure to tune in to Channel Nine Eyewitness News for a series of reports, including interviews with some people never heard from before.
