Simulated Plane Crash in State College Gives First Responders Valuable Experience

Don’t Panic! It sure looked like a disaster, but it was all make believe. Wednesday night’s Mass Casualty Response drill was staged to give first responders some realistic practice.

The scary scenario played out at Slab Cabin Park in College Township. Emergency crews had no idea what they’d face until the first calls for help went out at 6:00 p.m. That’s when everyone was first told about the imaginary scenario: a jet plane had crashed and more than 50 people were injured or worse.

As the first ambulances rolled to a stop EMT’s walked right into a nightmare.  There were badly injured people everywhere. One man had been speared in the arm by a tree limb. Again — it was all staged. It took some Hollywood magic to give the “victims” the proper appearance. Those victims were all Penn State students who acted the part of plane crash victims as part of their classwork.

Tracy Reagan is training coordinator for Centre LifeLink EMS. She says the drill is, “something we need to train for. Once a year we try to do a drill like this — to keep their brains wrapped around a mass casualty response.”

StateCollege.com recorded the scene. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Although all of the injuries are simulated– the video is graphic and looks  very real.