‘Mayday, this is just a drill’

The Tacloban Airport recently conducted its first-ever full-scale emergency drill using a mock aircraft that “caught fire.”

With 500 people, the exercise drill replicated three different scenarios, starting with the plane being struck by birds that were sucked into its engine.

The pilot-in-command later issued a “Mayday” declaration and requested a priority landing by calling the Tacloban Air Traffic Control Tower. The aircraft the “caught fire” and crashed into a nearby waterway.

Another scenario was presented, in which emergency responders from CAAP Area VIII and the PNP Aviation Security Unit’s Explosive Management Division responded immediately to an explosion caused by a hidden device in abandoned baggage while emergency responses were in progress.

Some passengers simulated injuries and wounds and received treatment. Through the simulated exercises, the airport and its partners were evaluated for their preparedness and ability to respond to multiple simultaneous events.

The Bicol International Airport also conducted a bomb-explosion drill at the airport’s vehicle parking lot last 29 February.

The activity was facilitated by personnel of the Aviation Security and Explosive Ordnance Disposal V in coordination with the AVSEU-Bicol International Airport Police Station, the BIA-Security and Intelligence Service, and its contracted private security agency.