CSULB students participate in Long Beach airport drill

Although she was covered in fake blood from severe burns and wore clothes that were in tatters, Aileen Chen was full of excitement playing the role of an injured passenger from a plane crash at the Long Beach Airport (LGB) Triennial Drill on Friday.

During this drill, the airport conducted a mock plane crash in which all of the first responders, including firemen, police officers, operations and public affairs, were evaluated on their reaction to the emergency.

Chen, a Cal State Long Beach sophomore pre-nursing major, played Cliff Clavon, a second and third degree burn victim who was allergic to penicillin and had lost his mom during the accident.

“This is the first time that I’ve heard the airport had to do this,” Chen said. “It’s pretty fun, and I am happy that we get to actually be victims instead of people just passing out water or being the family members.”

Chen, also an intern and volunteer at the St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, said she participated in the event to get a glimpse of how her future career would be.

“I am trying to get into nursing, so it’s nice to see what options they have, like what else you can be,” Chen said. “You can be a fireman or you can be part of a search and rescue team, which is pretty cool, too. And you can also be involved with first-aid, CPR and so much more.”

She was one of many students who were at the drill who are pursuing a career in the medical field.

Senior psychology major John Montealere, also participated in the mock plane crash drill to see how an actual trauma scenario would play out in an airport situation.

“I am looking to go into military medicine, Navy’s ship surgeon specifically, so this is a good run-through and good practice for emergency situations,” Montealere said. “Especially, since they do end up calling in military for a lot of things.”

Montealere and Chen are currently involved in the clinical care extender program at St. Mary Medical Center, where they found out about the event, and they were encouraged to sign up to volunteer.

“[The drill is held] once every three years, so I thought it would be just a really fun thing to jump on board,” Montealere said. “So far it’s holding up to its expectations, and it’s a lot of fun. It seems really well-planned and well-structured, and I think everything went all according to plan.”

Aside from students who wish to be in the medical field, other students from unrelated majors came to the drill for other purposes.

Asia Danaan-chan, a sophomore drawing and painting major participated just for the experience.

“When I first heard about it, I didn’t really know what to expect, but I thought it would be something fun to do with my friend, so I participated,” Danaan-chan said.

“There has been a lot of waiting around, but it’s been exciting to be all covered in face paint and see everyone all bloody,” she continued.

This triennial exercise is required by the Federal Aviation Administration and conducted every three years.It is part of the 139 FAA requirements that gives LGB the credentials to be an airport.

The scenario was that Peanut Air flight 420, with 100 people on board, suffered hydraulic failure upon landing, so it collided with a small beach craft at approximately 11:10 a.m. There were 4 people on board the beach craft and two people in each maintenance vehicle.

There were more than 20 agencies present, including the American Red Cross, Long Beach Fire Department and Long Beach Police Department.

Students from CSULB, Long Beach City College and Cypress College were present to lend a hand.

“[The purpose of this drill is] to work on coordination and emergency response in case of an air disaster here at the airport,” said Matt Dobbertuhl, LBFD Public Information Officer. “We would like to train to make sure that we can respond in timely manner.”