GOVERNMENT emergency response units on Thursday held a drill at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to prepare them in the event of a plane crash and other emergency situations.
The exercise, dubbed as Crash and Rescue Exercise, was conducted to test the response capability and effectiveness of airport’s emergency plan in rescuing passengers in an aircraft accident.
The CREX is held every two years in compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Suggested and Recommended Practices.
General manager Eddie Monreal of the Manila International Airport Authority said the scenario was a Clark-bound plane carrying 75 passengers and six crew on board encountered engine trouble while takeoff and crashed at Naia’s runway 13 and burst into flames.
Monreal explained the drill was far from the real situation where rescue teams and fire engine teams were much quicker and faster than “we have seen today.”
He said the minimum response of Naia should be within five minutes but responders arrived in two minutes beyond time requirements.
The emergency response capability is approximately two minutes from the Naia’s Fire and Rescue building to the crash site as required under the ICAO standards.
There were also fire and rescue from different fire stations outside Naia who also volunteered during the exercise.
Among those who witnessed the exercise were different government and private agencies, including military units, Metro Manila Development Authority, Pasay City local government, Office for Transportation Security, and Department of Transportation.
The drill showed fire on the plane wreckage that was quickly put out by responding rescue and firefighting personnel using chemical foam.
Monreal added the authority had lists of a fleet of nine fire trucks, each with the capacity of carrying at least 3,000 gallons of water, or an aggregate capacity of 15,000 gallons of water, aside from 500 pounds of dry chemicals in each fire truck.