In order to test the readiness of the Airport’s emergency response in case of an aircraft accident, Entebbe International Airport’s management has organized “a full scale exercise.”
The last such drill was three years ago — in 2016.
On Wednesday, the Airport once again placed under the microscope to determine whether it is prepared to handle an emergency involving a passenger aircraft hijack and aircraft crash.
The airport, through its public affairs department, later released a statement detailing the “full-scale emergency exercise”.
The exercise kicked off at 8am and involved hijack simulation of a Speed Air (pseudo name) flight TA 042 with 82 people on board.
The exercise assumed that the hijacked aircraft was flying over Uganda’s airspace and the pilot was forced to land at Entebbe International Airport.
After a protracted “hostage negotiation and rescue mission” was accomplished, the aircraft was cleared to proceed to its initial destination, but “crashed” on take-off on runway 12/30, with 78 passengers and crew on board.
It was presumed that some people lost their lives and a number of survivors were critically injured, which sparked off an emergency situation involving airport fire-fighters and other rescue agencies that were called in to save lives.
The Civil Aviation Authority’s Fire Fighting and Rescue Services personnel put down the ensuing fire, as medics from various hospitals were summoned and they promptly responded. Several ambulances and medical staff swarmed the crash scene and “rescued” the victims. The critically injured were rushed to hospitals in Entebbe and Kampala.
Stakeholders that participated in the exercise included medics from various hospitals, Uganda Red Cross Society, St. John’s Ambulance, Uganda People’s Defense Air Force (UPDAF), Uganda Police Airwing, Aviation Police, national security agencies, representatives from the various airlines, ground-handling agents, volunteers who acted as injured passengers and CAA staff, among others.
The exercise is a mandatory requirement for international airports of countrues that contracting member states of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Uganda last conducted such an exercise in 2016.
Requirement
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulations require each international airport in the world to conduct such emergency preparedness exercises on a regular basis so as to rehearse and perfect rescue efforts in the unfortunate occurrence of an accident.