SOGs again--downed aircraft and evacuation procedures

[SilverCity4]

I feel like I’m beating a dead horse bringing up SOGs again…

As the old story goes, we’re revamping our SOPs to SOGs, and need advice.

Here’s what I’m interested in:

1. Missing or downed aircraft.

What are your department SOGs? How does your SOG address aircraft that aren’t on fire from a safety standpoint with regards to preserving evidence for investigators?

How about missing aircraft? At another department I was on, we had the FAA call us on several occasions to report small planes that had suddenly dropped from radar, but we never had one of those materialize as a crash. As well, my paying job is dispatching for a helicopter ambulance service. If I lose contact with our helicopter, one of the duties I have (among about 100 others) is to notify local FD and PD in the vicinity of the loss of contact, which we narrow down to a 5-by-5 mile square. How do you set up an effective system to search the area (my FD is pretty rural, so I can’t bet on having dozens of 911 calls to report a crash)?

2. Evacuation of an area.

What I’m interested in primarily are large area evacuations as a result of a train derailment, highway hazmat, or pipeline break. How do you break up the area systematically, and what are the limits that you will utilize your personnel? We’re trained to the HazMat First Responder level.

Thanks for the help.

[MtnRsq]

I can speak a bit to the missing/downed aircraft issue.

Our focus is mountain rescue and we do get calls for downed aircraft. The call is usually the result of 1) aircraft dropping off of ATC radar, 2) an "observed" crash, and/or 3) notification via an official agency (FAA/CAP/AFRCC) about an ELT (emergency location transponder) going off.

Depending on situation the typically missing aircraft search is a multi-agency type of affair.

Things to consider in searching:

1)Your ICS set-up must be sound.
2)Check the obvious - ELTs often go off on a hard landing - check the local airport(s).
3)Bring in knowledgeable resources early - specialized search/rescue teams may have an extended response. Calling these resources may save you a bunch of time/frustration in a fruitless search.
4)Because you are in a rural location you should absolutely have the capability of using DF locating equipment designed to key in on the chirp generated by an ELT on the standard downed aircraft frequency (122.5 for civilian and 2xxx something for military). Using LPERS effectively takes practice.
5) Develop a pre-plan. Are there certain hazards or likely incident locations (e.g., high mountain on the approach to the runway).
6) Understand rescue vs. recovery scenarios - esp. equipment or similar requirements.

You may want to contact your local Civil Air Patrol - they can often give you great info. on handling searches. Generally speaking, your rescue/extrication skills will serve you well as long as you understand how they translate to aircraft.

[huff317]

Sounds like MtnRsq knows his stuff, I'll definitely second the advice given. Check with Stillwater while you're at it, the institute SHOULD have something along the lines of SOG's you are looking for, and if not, then they should know who would. Of course, you could always access the sprawling metropolis of Cushing, and poll their experts........

[firecat1524]

Like mtnresq said, check with the Civil Air Patrol in regards to searches for planes. They have been doing aircraft searches for years...so they would be the best place to start.

In regards to evacuations, a good starting point would be with either State of Local EPD. Most of the time they already have a plan in place for evacuations, and if there is a large scale evacuation, you will need their assistance with shelters, feeding the evacuees, etc.

[SilverCity4]

Thanks for the help so far guys.

I'll check with the Civil Air Patrol to see if they have anything for us folks on the ground. I understand how they do it from the air.

The county LEPC (local emergency planning committee) doesn't do much--except have a meeting every once in a while.

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Nice to hear from you, Huff! How's things in Texas?