McCarran exercise simulates disaster

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.

Smoke rising from McCarran International Airport and emergency vehicles rushing onto the runway this morning were part of a simulated airline disaster designed to test airport and local responders.

Designed to simulate a security breach by terrorists, the scenario pretended that a van drove onto one of the McCarran runways, colliding with a 727 jetliner awaiting departure. The aircraft, in the scenario, had 120 passengers and a crew of five.

The exercise is required by the Federal Aviation Administration, which tests McCarran and other airports' emergency response once every three years, McCarran spokeswoman Debbie Millet said. It was the first exercise for McCarran that involved possible terrorism.

About 7:45 a.m., students from the Area Technical Trade Center and Vo-Tech High School were bused to a runway near the international terminal from the main terminal, where they had been made up to look like victims, and staged on the tarmac as if the 727 were already wrecked.

Some had blood red makeup, some of the boys were without shirts and girls in bathing suit tops, as if clothing had been lost in the crash.

At 8:07 a.m., the exercise began with a shot of orange smoke into the air, to simulate the van explosion. Within two minutes the Clark County Fire Department airport unit, known as Red Dog, were on the scene and applying water to the fire. A fire retardant foam was applied to the van.

Within 10 minutes about six Clark County Fire Department engines and trucks arrived from other stations, and police and other emergency responders were on the scene. The injured were moved off the tarmac and treated.

The exercise ended about 10 a.m.

FAA evaluators are expected to tell airport officials within a week how well the exercise went and whether any improvements are needed, Rosemary Vassiliadis, Clark County Aviation Department deputy director, said.

"Once we get that information, all the players involved in the exercise will be brought together and will discuss the findings," Vassiliadis said. "If there are areas we need to improve on, we will discuss them and make the needed changes to the airport emergency plan."

McCarran has never failed a simulated disaster exercise, Millet said.

Vassiliadis said she thought the exercise went well.

"The emergency operations center here at the airport was very calm," she said. "The people in there were working hard, but they were not in a mad rush. We saw a lot of communication between the different agencies, and that's the number one most important aspect for us."

Among the agencies participating in the exercise were the Clark County Health District, local hospitals, Clark County Fire and Rescue, the Transportation Security Administration, FBI and Metro Police.