DURANGO-LA PLATA AIRPORT – Although aviation accidents can theoretically happen at any time, commercial air travel remains the safest mode of transportation in the United States.
Paradoxically, the rareness of plane crashes and aviation accidents means first responders, emergency medical services and law enforcement don’t often gain experience dealing with real incidents.
But it is vital for those agencies to know what to do in case an incident does occur.
Durango-La Plata County Airport conducted its triannual emergency training exercise Wednesday with law enforcement agencies, fire departments, their respective EMS crews and about 70 volunteers.
Nearly 200 people participated in the training.
The training exercise simulated a scenario fit for cinema in which something went wrong as a commercial aircraft was landing, causing a domino effect of chaos where the plane veered off the runway, causing a breach of the fuselage and a resulting fire.
Two school buses lent by Ignacio School District for the exercise were parked one in front of the other to represent an aircraft fuselage, DRO Aviation Director Tony Vicari said.
The training is critical for area first responders and law enforcement because it allowed agencies to practice mutual responses, he said.
La Plata County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Erling Antony said, “You can't get the same amount of knowledge if you don't participate. So it's a great time to work with all the agencies that we work with on a daily basis.”
But the exercise also served as a chance for volunteers to meet their first responders, educate themselves about emergency responses and stretch their acting muscles.
Before 8 a.m., volunteers and first responders gathered inside a hangar at DRO to check in before the exercise. One-by-one, volunteers sat down with a makeup artist who transformed them into convincing crash victims.
Some volunteers were made up with simple bruises or busted lips, fake blood dried midstream down their chins. Others had more intense pretend injuries with revolting gashes on their foreheads or debris like glass or steel sticking out of appendages.
One woman’s costume incorporated what appeared to be a pipe jutting out of her chest.
“It's fun to work with the folks and get them out here,” Vicari said. “And it's very serious. Obviously, we're mocking up a potentially major accident that would be a very serious endeavor if it ever actually happened.
“But I think at the same time, the group understands how to gain knowledge out of it and be serious about it but also have fun working as a team,” he added.
Durango resident Carrie Peterson was among the volunteers with more gruesome mock-up injuries. A jagged piece of debris was fixed to her thigh with dark red, almost burgundy fake blood.
“I was on a plane and it crashed. I don't know anything else,” she said, playing the part provided to her on a patient card with basic information about her simulated injuries, symptoms and behavior.
Every volunteer received a patient card, although the injuries and associated character notes differed from card to card. Some people were instructed to act shaken but awake, alert and responsive. Others were asked to demonstrate confusion and to perhaps act uncooperatively. Some volunteers needed to play dead.
“Do you have a Band-Aid?” Peterson said.
Breaking character, she said she volunteered to play a patient because she works in the medical field and she wants to know people are being trained as best they can be.
Volunteers were loaded into vans and trucked to the training site on an airfield northeast of the DRO terminal. They loaded onto the buses and the exercise began shortly after.
Vicari said the exercise would follow the protocol for a real-life incident. As he predicted, DRO Aircraft Rescue Firefighting was the first on scene. Crews unloaded a hose from a fire truck and dragged it to the buses, although they spared volunteers from an actual hosedown.
By that time, volunteers were starting to shuffle out of the school buses, some appearing dazed. One volunteer limped loosely and aimlessly along in a dazed manner like a George Romero-inspired zombie.
Several La Plata County Sheriff’s Office deputies were next on the scene, which is how such a scenario would likely play out in real life.
“Our goal as law enforcement would be to isolate the crew and the pilots to maintain the integrity of (the investigation) to make sure that, you know, pilots don't work together to get their stories straight,” Antony said.
From there, sheriff’s deputies would assist in treating people’s injuries.
He said law enforcement can treat extraordinary hemorrhaging and major bleeding wounds with chest seals, hemostatic agents and pressure bandages.
Durango Fire Protection District trucks and fire engines were next on scene. Firefighters guided the mock patients to spots in the grass away from the incident site where they sat them and laid them down according to the severity of their injuries.
Volunteer Tom Johnson, whose patient card instructed him to act “scared and confused, not able to follow simple directions and alert with altered mental status,” would repeatedly get up and walk away after firefighters sat him down. At one point, he took a swing at one of the firefighters.
“I'm a natural pain in the ass, so you know, just anything we can do to support these guys to help make it more realistic,” he said after the exercise. “... There's always somebody who wants to get up and wander around.”
Vicari said some strengths and weaknesses were apparent during the training. Radio communications, including initial dispatch and tactical channel breakouts were strong as was interagency collaboration.
But managing evacuating passengers with limited immediate emergency response staff challenging and more review is needed to improve the process.
Additionally, volunteers said more improvements like shade, water and snacks could be made available in the field.
cburney@durangoherald.com
