Plane crash drill held in St. Johns County for emergency crews

More than 20 volunteers and dozens of emergency crews showed up to participate in a simulation of a plane crash landing at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport.
 
The St. Johns County Fire Rescue says the simulation is similar to what we saw when a Boeing 737 went down in the St. Johns River.

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On May 3 that plane was traveling from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to NAS Jacksonville when it skidded off the runway.  
 
All 143 people on board survived and suffered minor injuries.

Emergency crews in Jacksonville responded quickly.
 
"Clearly, they were very prepared for that type of event. They all worked together to facilitate those rescues and that's kind of what we're doing today, is how much can we plan to prepare so that in the event it happens we're as ready as we can be," said Jeremy Robshaw, the PIO for the St. Johns County Fire Rescue.
 
The scenario on Tuesday was only a drill but it demonstrated what would happen and  how crews would respond if a commercial aircraft carrying 30 passengers made an emergency landing at the Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine.

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Edward Wuellner, the airport's executive director, says the emergency response would be the same but unlike the simulation that showed a plane landing on land, the plane on the St. Johns River landed on the water and didn't sustain a massive amount of damage.
 
"For the most part the aircraft was intact, people can get in and out of the aircraft safely in an emergency situation, it's a little different scenario here," said Wuellner.
 
The Northeast Florida Regional Airport says it hold a full-scale emergency exercise every three years, which they say is required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Cox Media Group