PNGDF holds crash drill

THE Papua New Guinea Defence air transport wing (ATW) held its first “live crash” exercise at its base in Port Moresby on Wednesday.
ATW commanding officer Lt-Col Nancy Wii said the importance of the training was to prepare them for any real crash exercise that might happen.
“This live crash exercise was part of implementing our safety framework,” she said.
Wii said ATW was going through a revitalisation process and there had been much support from partners and government stakeholders.
“We have established the aviation safety framework and it is currently under implementation,” she said.
Wii said there were four pilots in charge of the PAC-750 Xstol aircrafts that were responsible for emergencies.
She said the roles played and scenarios during the exercise were realistic to get them prepared for the real accident and emergency when it happened.
“The scenario in the live crash exercise was about how a plane was landing and encountered fire so the rescue team had to be realistic with the emergency responses,” she said.
ATW operations officer Major Randall Hepota said the initial planning was to have the exercise annually but prior to it they would be helping with the talk-through scenarios for six months before carrying out the exercise.
“This is the first ‘live crash’ exercise carried out by the ATW with the help of its partners,” he said.
Director air preparation Lt-Col Eddie Miro said there were plans in place for the emergency response at the Jackson International Airport but it could be implemented if they work well with their partners.