On Tuesday November 30, 2021 an emergency exercise was held at the Ben Gurion Airport. The drill, titled “Eagle” simulated the crash of passenger plane with 250 people onboard. The drill was a joint effort between the Israeli Airports Authority, Magen David Adom, Israel Police, Israel Fire and Rescue and other emergency organizations.

The goals of the drill were to evaluate the emergency protocols and response, the collaboration between all participating organizations, including the Airport Authority, the Israeli Police, Israel Fire and Rescue, the IDF and the Home Front Command. The focus of the drill was on a rapid coordinated response including, rapid arrival to the scene, MDA employees and volunteers’ response to the crash site, managing the immediate medical care and evacuation, and more.

The drill simulated the emergency alert message from the control tower, received at MDA’s National Command and Control Center for a passenger airliner malfunction with 250 passengers on board. What followed was the airplane crash at the airport runway upon landing. MDA medical teams provided medical treatment, assisting 250 simulated passengers. During the drill MDA teams took patients to the MDA helicopter that landed at the airport and airlifted them to the hospital, and simulated the triage and evacuation of tens of other simulated victims.

MDA deployed 8 MICUs, 20 Ambulances, 5 MCRVs (Multiple Casualty Response Vehicle), 2 Paramedic Supervisor vehicles, Medi-Cycles, 2 Regional Command and Control Vehicles, the National Command and Control Truck and hundreds of MDA Paramedics & EMTs.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)