Crash-landing: Why Trinidad and Tobago must be prepared

Last Friday, the Airports Authority of TT (AATT) held an emergency exercise at the Piarco International Airport by simulating the crash of an aircraft there.

The AATT aerodrome at Piarco is regulated by the TT Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), in accordance with Civil Aviation (No 12) Aerodrome Licencing Regulations.

The authority is responsible for aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) for all aircraft accidents that may occur within a five-kilometre radius of each TT airport.

Aircraft accidents in other areas of TT are deemed offsite.

The regulations require the authority to hold an emergency exercise at least once every 24 months to test the co-ordination of the emergency service agencies referred to in the AATT aerodrome emergency plan and the adequacy of the procedures and facilities provided for in that plan.

According to the regulations, AATT is required to establish an aerodrome emergency committee – the membership of which includes representatives from the fire services, police or other emergency services that, having regard to the location of the aerodrome, would be most likely asked to assist in the event of an emergency.

The committee is required to prepare an aerodrome emergency plan for both Piarco and ANR Robinson international airports.

The plan must include procedures for co-ordinating the responses of all emergency service organisations and any other matters to be included as prescribed in the ICAO manual of aerodrome standards. The committee has to review the plan at least once every 12 months and make any changes necessary to ensure it operates properly.

This review is to be carried out in consultation with the emergency service agencies referred to in the plan.

As soon as practicable after an emergency exercise has been carried out, or if an emergency has occurred, the AATT must arrange for the committee to review the effectiveness of the responses to the exercise or the emergency, assess the adequacy of the plan to deal with emergencies and take any necessary corrective action to ensure the plan operates properly.

The AATT must ensure that records are kept of each review of the plan carried out under the regulations and each record is retained for at least three years after the review to which the record relates.

The Boeing Company maintains statistics on all commercial jet plane accidents worldwide and publishes a statistical summary annually.

According to the 2023 summary, from 2014-2023, 21 per cent of fatal accidents occurred during the takeoff and initial climb phases of flight. Forty-three per cent of all fatal accidents occurred during the final approach and landing phases of flight.

The statistics suggest a probability that an aircraft accident can occur after takeoff from Piarco International Airport over the eastern part of the Northern Range, or in the Caroni Swamp during the approach into Piarco International Airport.

Should an aircraft develop a serious inflight emergency that requires it to land in the shortest possible time, it may not be able to make it to the nearest suitable airport.

The pilots will execute either a water or land ditching, depending on the location of the aircraft. In this scenario, based on ATC’s voice communication and radar surveillance of the aircraft, its last known location will be determined. Should the aircraft make a water ditching in the ocean, ATC will immediately inform the Coast Guard for the initiation of search-and-rescue efforts.

Should the aircraft make a land ditching, ATC will inform the Fire Service and other agencies, based on the TTCAA internal emergency communication matrix.

However, there are many grey areas regarding ARFF's responsibilities and capabilities when an accident occurs outside the five-kilometre radius of an airport.

A grey area relates to the existence of a national plan that clearly defines the role of the various supporting agencies in a mass casualty incident such as an off-airport wide-bodied aircraft crash.

Another grey area relates to the roles and functions of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) in offsite aircraft accident rescue and firefighting operations.

The ODPM is a division of the Ministry of National Security and is TT’s strategic disaster management co-ordinating agency. Its principal focus is to strengthen the nation’s ability to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover effectively from severe hazards and complex emergencies that may threaten society.

The OPDM should be the lead co-ordinating agency for all offsite aircraft accident rescue and firefighting operations, and should co-ordinate offsite drills at least once every two years.

Every day, there are numerous airlines transiting the Piarco FIR between North America and South America and between Europe and South America.

The majority of these airlines list Piarco Airport as a suitable airport for diversion in the event of an inflight emergency.

Turkish Airlines operates a daily flight on the Istanbul to Maiqueita, Venezuela route using a Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner aircraft. The aircraft routing takes it on a flight path close to TT.

LATAM operates a daily flight on the Sao Paulo to Miami route using a Boeing 777 aircraft which overflies TT’s sovereign airspace.

The OPDM should have the names and contact details of all volunteer organisations, civil contractors and other people in TT with the capabilities to assist with aircraft search-and-rescue operations, such as the tour-boat operators in the Caroni Bird Sanctuary.

The Eastern Air Lines Lockheed L1011 aircraft crash in the Florida Everglades during the night of December 29, 1972, was witnessed by a local airboat pilot and his friend who were out frog-gigging. The two men rushed to rescue survivors and continued shuttling people in and out of the crash site that night, saving lives.

As previously stated, in an aircraft accident, every second makes a life-saving difference. TT cannot afford to have the aviation equivalent of the Paria tragedy.