The Vancouver airport held a large-scale emergency training exercise Tuesday to practice its emergency response plan.
The drill included a simulated plane crash and nearly 500 participants from 25 different agencies. Various actors and volunteers took part in the exercise to make it more realistic for the emergency responders.
Footage shows a mock plane crash that involved a mid-air collision between an inbound aircraft and a helicopter necessitating an emergency landing for the plane. The fictional flight received significant damage to its landing equipment and the wreckage was tended to by responders.
“At YVR, safety is our number one priority. We view exercises and training as an essential part of this commitment to safety by remaining prepared in the unlikely event of an incident,” said Robyn McVicker, the Vancouver Airport Authority’s vice-president, operations and maintenance.
“I was pleased to see the level of coordination between all our partners and volunteers to effectively manage the simulated emergency. Hosting multi-agency training allows us to test our Emergency Management Plan in realistic conditions and helps refine our plans to incorporate the knowledge gained.”
Airport operations were not affected by this exercise.
