Macau International Airport conducted the full scale emergency exercise early this morning (23 October 2015) to simulate an aircraft crash upon landing which led to injuries and deaths.
Macau International Airport conducted the full scale emergency exercise early this morning (23 October 2015) to simulate an aircraft crash upon landing which led to injuries and deaths. The airport emergency plan was immediately activated. The exercise was deemed smooth and achieved its goal. The full scale emergency exercise started at 03:00. At its final approach to land at Macau International Airport, the aircraft encountered sudden system error resulting in failure of flight instruments. The captain immediately declared emergency. After touching down on the runway, the aircraft veered off the runway to the left and eventually broke into two parts, with one part crashing onto the water. The aircraft was carrying 75 passengers, 2 flight crew members and 5 cabin crew members. More than 20 people were injured or killed as a result of the accident. When the Administration of Airports, Ltd. (ADA) was informed of the accident, they immediately activated the airport emergency operations centre to take charge of the accident. The Fire Services and the rescue team arrived on spot to provide search and rescue services; the injured were sent to hospital for medical treatment in a timely manner; a family reception area and a counseling centre were respectively set up in the passenger terminal to provide enquiry and counseling services to the uninjured and the family members of the injured and the deceased. The exercise was concluded at 05:30 with good results. All participating entities were able to act in accordance with the airport emergency plan as well as their own contingency plans. The number of participants was 300. The Administration of Airports Ltd. was the coordinator of the exercise. Other participating entities were Unitary Police Force, Macao Customs Services, Public Security Police Force, Judiciary Police, Fire Services Bureau, Health Bureau, Social Welfare Bureau, Marine and Water Bureau, Civil Aviation Authority, CAM-Macau International Airport Co. Ltd., Air Macau Co. Ltd., Macau Security Company Ltd. (airport security) and Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd.