ASE Challenger Incident Fil Meraz, Airport Operations Coordinator - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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ASE Challenger Incident Fil Meraz, Airport Operations Coordinator - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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ASE Challenger Incident Fil Meraz, Airport Operations Coordinator Kirk Schoenthaler, Airport Operations Officer Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting Working Group Galveston, TX October 1, 2014 Presentation Objectives Case Study

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ASE Challenger Incident

Fil Meraz, Airport Operations Coordinator Kirk Schoenthaler, Airport Operations Officer

Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting Working Group Galveston, TX October 1, 2014

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Presentation Objectives – Case Study

  • Aspen/Pitkin County

Airport Orientation

  • Previous Incidents and

Preparation

  • January 5th
  • Response
  • Future Preparedness
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Aspen/Pitkin County Airport (ASE)

  • 1 Runway Airport
  • 99% land on

Runway 15

  • 99% take off of

Runway 33

  • Entire Airport Staff

is 25 full time

  • 11 Employees are

ARFF Certified

  • Rely on Mutual Aid

for Emergency Responses

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Previous Incidents & Preparation

  • March 29th, 2001 –

Gulfstream Incident

  • 18 fatalities
  • High profile international

event

  • Unprepared for Recovery

aspects of incident

  • High media demand
  • Significant family assistance
  • Impact on

response/recovery personnel

  • Lacked depth of bench

strength for incident management skills

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SLIDE 5

Previous Incidents & Preparation

  • 2006 Airport Operations

Center (ARFF Station)

  • June 7th, 2012 - Learjet

Incident

  • September 8th, 2012 -

Triennual Drill

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SLIDE 6

January 5th

  • Weather
  • Cold
  • Variable Winds
  • Morning Snow Storm
  • Busy Day – 297 operations on Jan. 3rd
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SLIDE 8
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SLIDE 9

ARFF Response

  • ARFF was enroute to scene in less than 30 seconds
  • On scene in less than 90 seconds
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SLIDE 10
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SLIDE 11

Initial Mutual Aid Response

  • Mutual Aid responders
  • Pitkin County Sheriff
  • Aspen Ambulance
  • Aspen Fire
  • Snowmass Wildcat Fire
  • Snowmass Police
  • Aspen Police
  • Basalt Fire & Rescue
  • Quick response – ARFF transferred Command per protocol
  • Incident Commander called in Mass Casualty
  • Transported the 2 survivors to the Hospital
  • Limited number of ARFF Personnel/aircraft familiarization
  • ARFF working on suppression
  • Mutual conducting extrication
  • Hot Zone and PPE
  • Staging
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Response to Recovery Transition

  • NTSB contacted

– Airport Closed

  • Chartered a helicopter
  • Moving Aircraft

– Removed Deceased

  • Transition from Response

to Recovery

– Decided to Stand-up Pitkin County Type IV Incident Management Team

  • 6PM Briefing Meeting
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SLIDE 13

Recovery

  • Operational meeting on

Monday at 0800 with all interested parties

  • Outlined Goals and

Expectations

  • NTSB and FAA conducted

preliminary Investigation

  • All debris logged & removed
  • By midnight the aircraft was

removed from Safety Area

  • Reopened at 0700 on Tuesday,

January 7th

  • Airport closed for 42 Hours

55 Minutes

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Terminal Incident

  • All personnel were

focused on the aircraft crash

  • Terminal Incident was an

afterthought

  • 300 People in the secure

hold room

  • 100 People in ticketing
  • 60 people on aircraft

waiting to take off

  • Secure hold room was

cleared in 15 minutes

  • The Airport access road

was closed in 1 hour

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SLIDE 15

Incident Command Structure and the Terminal

  • Incident Command

Structure

  • Unified Command
  • Scalability of ICS
  • Terminal Information

Officer

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SLIDE 16

Communications

  • General
  • Social Media
  • Traditional Media
  • Person-to-Person
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Communications - General

  • When will the Airport Re-Open?
  • All of the Information is not

enough Information

  • Rapid Regular Releases

– Get out some Information or Reporters will create the Story

  • Public Information Officer

(Assistant) in Terminal

  • Crisis Communication Plan
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Communications – Social Media

  • Just started Social Media
  • Celebrities

– LeAnn Rimes – Kevin Nealon

  • Airport’s First Tweet was

within 12 minutes

  • Continuous updates

throughout the Event

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SLIDE 19

Communications – Traditional Media

  • Know and expect the “who, what, when, where, why,

and how” Questions

  • Interviews

– Multiple PIO interviews starting within an hour of the crash – Airport Interviews that evening

  • Initial Press Release was 4:45pm
  • Press Conferences

– Next day 10am and 3pm

  • Press Coverage

– Open Records Request –

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Communications – Person-to- Person

  • Unexpected Volume of Phone Calls and Visits

– >100 per hour

  • Information release

– Guest Services – Tenants

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Future Preparedness

  • ICS Training
  • Relationships
  • Triennial Drill
  • Airport Emergency Plan
  • Plans (SOPs)
  • After Action Report
  • Crisis Communications Plan
  • Fail to Prepare = Prepare to Fail

– Benjamin Franklin

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SLIDE 22

Thank You!

Contact Information

  • Fil Meraz, Airport Operations Coordinator
  • Fil.Meraz@aspenairport.com
  • 970-429-1881
  • Kirk Schoenthaler, Airport Operations Officer
  • Kirk.Schoenthaler@aspenairport.com
  • 970-429-1885