By Fiqah Roslan
800 involve in KKIA drill
KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia Airports remains committed in ensuring the highest level of readiness for its airports after successfully completing an Aircraft Crash Off Airport Full-Scale Exercise, held in collaboration with the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (JBPM) at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA).
The exercise, led by the organisation’s Airport Fire and Rescue Services (AFRS), was part of annually scheduled initiatives to ensure the readiness of Malaysia Airports’ network of airports in the event of an air disaster, in addition to improving communications between agencies involved.
KKIA airport manager Sunif Naiman said the exercise, which involved approximately 800 participants from various government and private agencies, simulated an aircraft crashing off at KKIA runway during take-off, near the Petagas River estuary.
The simulation involved a mock aircraft from “Romeo Airlines,” which carried 150 passengers including cabin crew, 20 of which were stranded at sea.
“This is something new for us to evaluate the coordination between agencies in facing such incidents, in addition to putting our standard operating procedures (SOPs) to the test in times of crises.
“This exercise also gives us an opportunity to identify our strengths and weaknesses, as we are aware there would be things to improve,” said Sunif.
He also emphasised the importance of handling next of kin with care, in the event of an air crash. Families and friends must be dealt with delicately, he said, and by trained personnel.
“In the event of a crash, the airlines involved will set up a Family Reception Centre (FRC), Friends and Family Matching Area (FFMA) and Family Holding Area (FHA), as well as a Survivor Reception Centre (SRC).
“Various hospital departments would be involved, such as the emergency department, as well as personnel from Hospital Mesra Bukit Padang.
“This is because relatives tend to be in a troubled state which requires the expertise of trained caregivers. The same goes for survivors, especially, who would also be suffering from trauma following the incident,” he elaborated.
MASwings chief executive officer (CEO) Aminuddin Zakaria said the airline trains caregivers internally by engaging experts in the field.
As a participant of yesterday’s exercise, Aminuddin, on behalf of MASwings, said the airline has teams mobilised in Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan, ready to respond if necessary.
“These things happen unexpectedly, so we need to train our staff and evaluate whether our SOPs are good enough.
“Being a caregiver is not an easy task as it deals with many family members and friends of victims who need consoling and proper attention.
“We understand these situations are very emotional and high-pressure, so we want to ensure we treat the next of kin as best we could,” he said.
Meanwhile, Karamunsing Police Station Head of Investigation and Traffic Enforcement Department, DSP Yusoff Zaki Mat Yaacob, explained that upon being alerted to a crash, police would dispatch front liners to confirm the situation before proceeding to the officer-in-charge and setting up a control centre.
“From there, we mobilise our backups whether it is the police or other relevant units, such as The People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA) or the Malaysia Civil Defence Department (APM), among others.
“Then, the search and rescue mission would proceed according to site, whether on land or in water,” he said.
According to Malaysia Airports acting group CEO Raid Azmi Rojo Nazuddin, the exercise at KKIA was the third held this year, after Melaka and Sandakan.
Partial scale exercises had also been conducted at two airports, table top exercises at 13 airports and fire drill exercises at 11 airports to date, he said.
The 800 participants who took part in yesterday’s exercise were from the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia and HAZMAT team, National Security Council, Royal Malaysia Police, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Civil Aviation Authority Malaysia, National Disaster Management Agency, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Malaysia Airlines Berhad, Malaysia Civil Defence Department and Universiti Malaysia Sabah, among others, alongside airline and airport staff.