Disaster at Dulles? No, Just a Drill

If you see smoke and helicopters or hear sirens in the direction of Dulles International Airport Saturday, don't be alarmed.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is conducting an emergency preparedness exercise from 8:30 a.m. to about noon.

The drill will include a simulated aircraft accident that will test the Airport’s emergency plan and provide hands-on training to airport and mutual aid emergency response personnel, an airport spokesman said.

The drill will take place on a closed runway and will not affect normal airport operations. But it will include the following elements to simulate the realism of an actual emergency:

*  A widebody United Airlines jet aircraft on the runway

* A trainer aircraft that will be lit on fire, producing visible smoke

* Over 50 responding emergency vehicles, including mutual aid from eight surrounding fire departments

* Over 100 volunteer actors that will simulate injuries sustained from the incident

* A helicopter hovering over the scene

The exercise is not open to the public. And remember, despite the commotion, especially near Routes 606 and 28, all is well.

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