A plane crashed on takeoff Thursday morning, injuring multiple people. Simultaneously, a media helicopter was downed by an assailant at the crash site.
Only, this incident didn’t actually happen.
Kern County first responder agencies held a training exercise Thursday to prepare for an emergency that calls for multi-agency collaboration to practice in the event of a mass-casualty incident.
“You only get a sense of what responder-safety issues might arise when you're actually out there,” said Mark Witsoe, the director of Kern County's airports. “You can learn from that and improve.”
Public safety departments must practice this training every three years to remain within Federal Aviation Administration compliance, Witsoe said. The drill exposed responders to a security incident, and then to a safety one. About 175 people and 15 departments participated in the drill.