If you happen to drive by the South Bend International Airport Thursday night and see a bunch of flashing lights and a fire, don’t be alarmed. They’re only doing a training exercise.
The airport’s Rich VonIderstine tells us they do disaster training every three years to get South Bend area first responders and airport staff ready for emergencies. This time around, they’re simulating a hard landing.
“This year, we have an aircraft to use, so we’re practicing an aircraft disaster,” VonIderstine said. “It’s a hard landing on the Runway 36 involving a small aircraft.”
There won’t be any real planes landing, but there will be a real plane from which passengers will have to be rescued.
VonIderstine says the exact details of the scenario aren’t known, and that’s for a reason.
“The idea is to make it as realistic as possible. So it’s a hard landing — we call it a crash landing — but the aircraft is still whole, but there are many injuries and possible fatalities.
There will also be a fire that local departments will put out. VonIderstine says the exercise comes complete with passengers who have been made up to look like they have real injuries.
The event is not open to the public, but they will have a small crowd of spectators that’s already signed up. The drill will begin at 7 p.m. and be finished by 8:45.
