Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport Facilitates Aircraft Emergency Training Exercise

Click here to view the image gallery from the aircraft emergency training exercise at SDF.

Today the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF) will hold a full-scale, aircraft emergency disaster drill on the airfield. The airport's Public Safety Department with support from a variety of emergency response agencies in the community will utilize a portion of the airfield as part of a simulated aircraft incident. It will include a period of fire, smoke and approximately 100 volunteers who will act as passengers on the aircraft. There will also be activities in the terminal related to this training exercise. All activities surrounding the drill will begin mid-morning and conclude by late afternoon.

Motorists traveling on I-65 and I-264/Watterson Expressway as well as those in areas along the airport's perimeter including Preston Highway, Standiford Lane, Grade Lane and Fern Valley Road can expect to see or hear the exercise in progress. This may include flames, smokes and a heavy presence of emergency response vehicles.

"Even as aviation remains one of the safest modes of transportation, it's crucial that our Public Safety and entire airport team are always prepared and ready to respond to an emergency situation," said Dan Mann, Executive Director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. "Exercises like this one today gives our team and community partners the opportunity to practice their skills, putting their trainings to the test and going through our response processes in a simulated live environment."

The full-scale training exercise will be held on a portion of the airfield that will not impact normal airport operations. Communications in the airport's terminal, on FlyLouisville.com and its social media channels will be shared so the public is aware of the simulated drill should they see any of its activities.

The exercise scenario will include the following elements to add realism to the simulated incident:

• Numerous emergency vehicles and first responders from the airport's Public Safety Department and mutual aid support from surrounding communities' emergency response agencies
• A period of fire and smoke
• Conversations between dispatchers and responders on emergency radio frequencies
• About 100 volunteer role players including moulage to simulate injuries sustained from the incident
• Support helicopters staged and responding to the exercise site

New for this year is the addition of a mock trauma response area in partnership with the University of Louisville Hospital to train for mass casualty incidents. This will allow trauma physicians and nurses to be on-site, and simulate their response to those immediate medical needs.

Since 2023, the Airport Authority has invested more than $2 million in emergency response equipment. This includes two new Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) Crash Trucks, a new UTV mini-ambulance, 15 military-grade litters and various triage tools.

In addition to the full-scale training exercise on Tuesday, additional Public Safety trainings will be held on the airfield during the day on Monday, October 20 and Wednesday, October 22. On all three days, periods of flames and smoke with a heavy emergency vehicle presence may also be visible from the terminal and surrounding roadways and areas.