Wichita Airport To Hold Full-Scale Disaster Exercise

Press release from City of Wichita:

September 15, 2020

Every three years, the Wichita Airport Authority conducts an FAA-mandated Full-Scale Disaster Exercise. This year, the exercise will be held on Thursday, Sept.17, 2020 beginning at 9 a.m. The exercise will be held north of Highway K42, in between runways 1L and 14.

The scenario for the exercise is as follows: At approximately 0900 hours, the Air Traffic Control Tower advises that an aircraft is declaring an in-air emergency due to an issue with the right main landing gear. Upon landing, the right main landing gear fails and the aircraft crashes and comes to rest at the end of the runway.

Real disasters of this scale are extremely rare, and have never occurred at ICT. However, federal regulations and good emergency management practices require that all commercial airports in the U.S. practice responding to these events in a simulated environment.

During the exercise, Airport staff will post simulated information on Twitter @FlyICT, using the hashtag #ICTdrill.

There will be responders from 18 various agencies, departments and organizations involved. During Covid-19, the airport is taking extra precautions by limiting the size of this exercise as well as using training manikins to replace volunteers as the simulated victims.

Any media wishing to film the exercise are asked to call Airport Administration at (316) 946-4700 no later than 3 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 15. Media attending the event must be at the Airport Administration Building, 2173 Air Cargo Road, on Thursday, Sept. 17 by 8:15 a.m. in order to be escorted by bus to the simulated crash site.

This press release was produced by City of Wichita. The views expressed here are the author’s own.