Exercise Graphite

The exercise scenario sees the A330 declare an emergency with a hydraulic systems problem while on climb out of Sydney, with the crew advising ATC of their intent to return to the airport.

The emergency declaration triggers a level 2 response for airport and local emergency service agencies.

Airservices Australia’s Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) and NSW Fire Brigades (NSWFB) vehicles assemble on stand by as ATC clears the A330 to land on the east-west runway 07.

On landing the A330 ‘crashes’, its fuselage breaking into two main sections, spreading a trail of debris as it comes to rest at the end of the runway.

The now fatal crash landing increases the emergency to a level 3 response. Dozens of NSW Police Force and Ambulance Service of NSW vehicles attend the airport’s emergency assembly point for coordinated marshalling to the accident scene.

Exercise Graphite commences during the immediate post crash phase with sections of the aircraft engulfed by flames.

Two 12 metre shipping containers replicate the aircraft’s split fuselage while industrial sized waste bins act as wings.

Some of the 150 Army, Navy and Air Force volunteers, playing the roles of passengers, run in all directions to escape as others more seriously ‘injured’ wait for rescue or lie ‘deceased’ among the wreckage.

ARFF and NSWFB tenders arrive at the crash site within seconds to extinguish the aircraft with a foam/water mixture.

The smouldering composite materials of the aircraft’s structure require firefighters to wear breathing apparatus or face masks.

Those still on board, moulaged to add an extra element of reality to the exercise, begin to be rescued by NSWFB personnel as the police establish a secure perimeter around the crash site.

Overhead, the NSW Police Aviation Support Branch’s ‘Polair 4’ arrives to monitor the scene using its high definition TV camera, capable of transmitting live footage back to Police Headquarters in the Sydney CBD for further observation.

Near to the crash site a triage is set up for ambulance paramedics to prioritise and treat the injured. Dazed passengers are brought to the triage on stretchers, exhibiting horrific injuries. The injured passengers’ carefully applied, often gruesome moulage adds to the realism of the emergency training exercise.

Uninjured passengers able to walk are escorted by bus to the passenger reception area located at the international terminal to be reunited with waiting relatives or friends. Family of the ‘deceased’ are informed and comforted by the Salvation Army, Red Cross and Anglicare.

As ambulance and fire crews begin to clean up, members of ATSB arrive to begin their investigations.

“This is not the first emergency exercise we have conducted at Sydney Airport, but it is certainly one of the most complex and has taken more than seven months of planning,” said NSW Police Force’s deputy commissioner and state emergency operations controller David Owens. “We tested our initial response to an aircraft crash, the control and coordination arrangements, the investigation process in conjunction with the ATSB, the Disaster Victim Registration procedures and the activation of Local Emergency Operations Centres. ” The next full field emergency exercise at Sydney Airport is scheduled to be conducted in 2010.