Hughes Administration conducts mostly virtual
full-scale emergency drill for airport
EWING — Aviation and government representatives and more than a dozen agencies took part in Trenton-Mercer Airport’s mostly virtual full-scale emergency exercise that has left Mercer County better prepared for a real emergency, County Executive Brian M. Hughes said.
“It was essential to keep participants safe in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also meeting Federal Aviation Administration requirements. This was an innovative and exciting way to accomplish those things,” Mr. Hughes said of the Nov. 19 drill, which took place mostly via Zoom video conference and partly on the Trenton-Mercer Airport (TTN) airfield rather than as a full in-person exercise.
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A full-scale exercise is mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration to be held once every three years to measure the level of preparedness of first responders and to allow the agencies that will respond to a true emergency to train together in a single venue.
“Every agency at every level, from the local fire department to the FBI, has to be on the same page should a major disaster occur in Mercer County,” Mr. Hughes said. “That requires taking a regional approach to preparedness, coordination and response, which is what was done for this exercise.”
Led by Airport Manager Melinda Montgomery, A.A.E, representatives of various agencies and offices participated in the handling of the “incident,” which for the purpose of this exercise was the simulation of a commercial aircraft overshooting the end of a runway upon landing at TTN, resulting in reported injuries. The non-virtual part of the exercise was the immediate response to the scene by firefighting units, law enforcement and emergency medical services (EMS).
The remainder of the exercise took place in two Zoom meeting rooms, the first of which established a command post involving the TTN fire department and other firefighting units, EMS, Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement and security agencies, airport operations and aviation organizations. Command post participants handled aspects of the simulation such as response, access to the scene, airport closures, scene security, resource coordination, HazMat containment, recovery and restoration.
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The second Zoom meeting room began about 30 minutes after the first, and established and emergency operations center (EOC) and joint information center (JIC), which were combined for this exercise. Participants included Mercer County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), Mercer County administration, Mercer County public information officer, airport manager, fire, EMS, law enforcement, air carrier and aviation organizations. EOC and JIC participants handled aspects of the simulation such as information sharing, creating a unified message for the media, air carrier response, aviation investigation/release, establishing a location for media to gather, accommodating friends and family, and meeting passenger needs.
Active participants and observers could jump between the command post and EOC/JIC Zoom meetings throughout the event, which took about 90 minutes.
Airport staff and other participants in the exercise will now evaluate the response and use information gained to improve or revise, if necessary, the Airport Emergency Plan and emergency procedures.
Numerous agencies participated in the full-scale emergency exercise, including:
Aviation
Frontier Airlines
Federal Aviation Administration-Flight Standards Office
NJDOT-Division of Aeronautics
TTN Air Traffic Control Tower
TTN Airport Administration
Mercer County
Top county officials
Office of Emergency Management
Public information officer
Law Enforcement
Department of Homeland Security
FBI-Trenton Field Office
Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office
Mercer County Sheriff’s Office
New Jersey State Police-Office of Emergency Management
New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness
Transportation Security Administration
Fire/EMS
Capital Health Emergency Services
Ewing Township EMS
Ewing Township Fire Department
Mercer County Fire Coordinators
NJ Division of Fire
Prospect Heights Fire Company (Ewing)
Trenton-Mercer Airport Fire Department
West Trenton Fire Company
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Photo1: First responders reporting to the airfield during the non-virtual part of the exercise.
Photo2: Law enforcement personnel conferring at the scene during the non-virtual part of the exercise.
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