GORDON—The Gore Bay-Manitoulin Airport conducted an emergency exercise on November 25 to satisfy the regulatory requirements of the Canadian Air Reg’s (CAR’s), as a “certified aerodrome.” The regulations state, “A full-scale exercise shall be conducted every four years, and a table-top exercise shall be conducted each year in which no full-scale exercise is conducted.”
The full-scale exercise is required to be based on scenarios that relate to a major aircraft accident while a table-top exercise shall be based on scenarios that include an aircraft accident or incident, said Robbie Colwell, airport manager. The exercise allows for testing of the emergency response plan and utilizes emergency responders/personnel to engage a process to deal with the emergency.
Firefighters from Gore Bay, Billings, Central Manitoulin and Burpee and Mills took part. They were joined by members of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Ontario Provincial Police and municipal representatives from Central Manitoulin and Gore Bay. As well, participants from Little Current and Mindemoya Hospitals (Manitoulin Health Centre) and the airport participated.
Mr. Colwell explained the table-top scenario involved two aircraft that had a mid-air collision just west of the airport’s shoreline property. The single-occupant training aircraft crashed into the water, while the 11 passenger two engine charter aircraft crashed into the grassed area south of runway 11-29.
The participants were divided into two groups, one representing the emergency command centre (ECC) and the other representing the on-scene controller, continued Mr. Colwell. To begin the practice, the airport manager made a simulated call to 911 which initiated the dispatch of emergency services. Each attending emergency response unit worked through their various roles to deal with the situations that evolved, in a priority manner. Some key components of the exercise were: airport closure and security; extinguishing the fire, declaring the crash site safe, victim removal and recovery, triage and transportation using ground and air resources, securing accident scene and investigation, wreckage removal, reporting and documentation, return to normal operations.
“The exercise was a success and demonstrated a great collaboration of emergency services personnel. The airport emergency response plan was followed and provided an excellent framework to carry out the exercise progression. Emergency training is very important and I appreciate and thank all those who attended the session,” said Mr. Colwell. “Nobody wants an emergency situation at the airport, but planning and training is essential to best prepare for an emergency situation if it occurs,” added Mr. Colwell.
