Leo Tudela
THE Commonwealth Ports Authority will conduct a triennial disaster drill at the Francisco C. Ada/ Saipan International Airport on Friday, April 19, 2024.
The drill, which involves a simulated plane crash, is a Federal Aviation Administration requirement that provides CPA and airport stakeholders with an opportunity to practice emergency response training.
CPA Executive Director Leo B. Tudela invited members of the Legislature to observe the drill, which will take place at the north end of the airport’s runway from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
In the previous drill held in May 2021, lawmakers and executive branch officials watched the disaster drill conducted by CPA’s Aircraft Rescue Firefighting or ARFF unit and other emergency response agencies with the participation of student volunteers from the Public School System to create “a realistic emergency scenario.”
This year’s drill will involve a plane crash simulation: a Boeing 737 with about a hundred passengers will “crash” on the runway. ARFF personnel will rush to the scene to quickly put out the fire and seek the “surviving passengers scattered on the ground.”
