Smoke billowing from a burning aircraft, emergency responders racing to save lives, bomb squads scanning for threats—it looked like a real disaster unfolding on GST Road, but it was a full-scale emergency mock drill carried out on Saturday near the Officers Training Academy (OTA) in Chennai.
The simulation, involving a fictional aircraft with 50 passengers and 5 crew members, aimed to test the readiness of Chennai airport and multiple government agencies in handling an actual air crash scenario just outside airport boundaries. The drill was an intense, realistic re-enactment of a plane crash, inspired by the recent Ahmedabad airport incident.
Confused by the chaos, passersby initially panicked upon hearing about a mayday call and seeing victims being triaged, the CISF cordoning off the crash site, and the bomb squad checking baggage for explosives. Ambulances zooming past and blocked traffic on GST Road only added to the alarm. It took nearly an hour for many to realise that it was a planned exercise, not a real emergency.
Airport officials explained that such full-scale emergency drills are mandated every three years to evaluate preparedness, but this time the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) advanced the schedule and insisted the simulation take place outside the airport, mimicking the Ahmedabad model.
The drill was closely monitored by the DGCA, ATC officials, and the district administration to evaluate response time, coordination, and efficiency. The goal: identify gaps and enhance crisis handling mechanisms.