A terrorism drill scheduled for Aberdeen Regional Airport is actually an old way to test emergency responders that will feature some new twists.
The drill is scheduled to run from about 1 to 5 p.m. June 23.
Tom Schmitt, chief deputy of the Brown County Sheriff's Department, said airport officials and local law enforcers have to stage a mock emergency every other year for training purposes. This year, it's been expanded to get new groups involved.
People from the airport, sheriff's department, Aberdeen Police Department, Brown County Emergency Management, FBI, state law enforcement groups, Transportation Security Administration, Brown County Communications Center, Avera St. Luke's Hospital and other agencies will participate.
Under the scenario, all of the groups will have to respond to a flight originating from Minneapolis that's been hijacked by a terrorist and is headed west.
At 12:45 p.m., the Brown County Communications Center will get a call informing it that the jet has been hijacked and has enough fuel to travel about 300 miles. A number of other factors come into play:
The terrorist is ill and infected with pneumonic plague.
The jet's landing gear doesn't work, so it must make a crash landing in Aberdeen.
There are 37 passengers on the jet, 20 of whom die in the crash landing.
The terrorist survives and flees.
Schmitt said this is the first time that he remembers the FBI and Transportation Security Administration to be involved in the biennial drill.
Members of Aberdeen Community Theatre will also help out, dressing as passengers and the terrorist. Schmitt said the different passengers will be in costumes that depict their injuries and medical personnel will have to diagnose the problems and treat the most critical injuries first.
In short, Schmitt said, the drill will provide a chance to see how the different groups work together, test chains of command and identify weaknesses.
