Source: AENA
The César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport, following the program established in its Self-Protection Plan, today carried out a general simulation of a plane accident, which has tested the response capacity of the aerodrome’s security services and the coordination with the means of outside help.
The exercise simulated the accident of a commercial flight to Funchal, with 14 passengers and 3 crew members. The aircraft, an ATR-72, twin-engine turboprop, presented a loss of power in both engines, listing and impacting in the Montaña Mina area, outside the airport area. The plane suffered irreparable damage.
After observing the accident and immediately, the Control Tower notified the Rescue and Fire Fighting Service (SSEI) and the accident was reported to the Operations Center, thus activating the Airport Self-Protection Plan.
The Main Command Post and the Advanced Command Post were established, and the Insular Emergency Plan (PEIN) and the Territorial Emergency Plan for Civil Protection of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (PLATECA) were activated.
Once the fire was extinguished, the arrival of the ambulances and the care and transfer to hospitals of the affected passengers were coordinated.
During the exercise, the family rooms were also activated to welcome and provide psychological and health assistance to relatives. Once the situation was controlled and the area declared safe, the command posts ended the drill.
Due to the situation derived from the pandemic, contacts have been minimized, complying with the demanded requirements of maximum personnel in each exercise scenario (with mandatory mask, social distancing and hand hygiene).
In carrying out this exercise, in addition to Aena staff and the companies that work at the Airport, the Delegation of the Government and Island Directorate, the Government of the Canary Islands, through the Emergency Coordination Center 112, the Cabildo de Lanzarote participated , the Insular Consortium of Emergencies, Red Cross, Civil Guard and Local Police of San Bartolomé.
The objective of the drill has been achieved, testing the effectiveness of the contents of the Self-Protection Plan, the coordination of all resources, the effectiveness of the response, and the increase in the confidence of the teams and people who intervene in this type of situations.
With this exercise, the César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport complies with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) regulations regarding emergency planning, which includes all the action procedures, as well as the protocols for requesting help external and coordinate it.