500 emergency personnel take part in LAX airplane disaster drill

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - More than 500 emergency-response personnel will take part in a drill at Los Angeles International Airport today simulating an airplane accident on the tarmac.

About 150 volunteers will take part in the drill posing as victims, complete with makeup and molds to simulate injuries.

The 2016 LAX Air Exercise is a two-hour, unrehearsed drill involving representatives from Los Angeles World Airports, the city police and fire departments, city Emergency Management Department, American Red Cross, county coroner's office, FBI, Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection and the cities of El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach.

The exercise is mandated by the FAA and must be conducted at least once every three years "to evaluate the operational capability of readiness of LAX's emergency response and management system."

Featured in the exercise will be six new Aircraft Rescue Firefighting apparatus, which were recently acquired at a cost of $5.7 million.

The vehicles replaced four older ones that have been re-deployed to Van Nuys and Ontario airports.

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