A dozen emergency service vehicles and nearly 50 emergency service workers flooded Orange airport on Saturday morning, sirens blaring and lights flashing, responding to an accident where a packed car and a taxiing plane collided.
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The five occupants of the car - one dead - were covered in blood.
The blood - fake. The dead occupant - a dummy. The "accident" - a training exercise, but an absolutely crucial one for emergency service workers.
Responders on the scene included police, firefighters, paramedics, State Emergency Services, Orange City Council, and a Toll helicopter, all coordinating and practising how to respond to an incident at the airport.
VIDEO: Watch as emergency services work on the vehicle at Orange airport ...
Aircraft incidents aren't alien to Orange, with two in the past 18 months.
Two people were injured but miraculously alive when a light aircraft crashed and exploded just off the runway in May 2018, while another less than six months later just down the road left a gyrocopter pilot and his passenger dead after landing in a paddock.
Saturday's exercise involved firefighters checking the plane for leaks, something which was stressed when the federal air safety authority conducted a review of the 2018 crash.
First responders cleared the area around the aircraft, and attended those trapped in the vehicle, removing the side of the sedan and bringing one person out on a stretcher.
Team safety around the aircraft and we're in a live environment at the airport and safety is very important for our crews and for patients
- Health Relationship Manager for NSW ambulance Andrew DeGabriel
Health Relationship Manager for NSW ambulance Andrew DeGabriel said the aim of the exercise was to "test of the emergency management plan for emergency services".
"It's a good way for emergency services to test our plan in a simulated environment and we are well prepared for the real event," he said.
Mr DeGabriel said it was "absolutely essential" to ensure these drills were run regularly to both test out capabilities but also to go over and debrief the incident.
"Team safety around the aircraft and we're in a live environment at the airport and safety is very important for our crews and for patients," he said.
Central West Police District Chief Inspector Peter Atkins also said it was "very important" for emergency services to test their capabilities to respond to a wide range of incidents.
"We're here in a mock crash testing our ability to respond to a crash on a taxiway. A toll helicopter will be landing to assist the exercise," he said on Saturday.
"Emergency responders will attend to a vehicle which has been involved in a plane crash, it's a test of the aerodrome plan and our ability to respond to an incident at the airport."
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