C-5 Crash Drill

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C-5 crash simulation to test emergency units

By Anthony Farmer

Poughkeepsie Journal

PLEASANT VALLEY — The sight of a massive C-5 military cargo plane that crashed in an open field in Delaware last month will be fresh in the minds of local emergency responders taking part in a drill Saturday.

Numerous fire, rescue, law enforcement and military officials will take part in a drill intended to simulate the crash of a C-5 in a field at the Albrecht Farm in town.

Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus held a press conference in front of the Pleasant Valley firehouse Monday announcing the upcoming training exercise. The drill has been in the planning for months, and the recent crash near Dover Air Force Base only reinforced just how real Saturday's imagined scenario could be.

The event will include several county, local and state agencies, as well as the New York Air National Guard.

"We're all vulnerable to major accidents that we need to train and be ready for," said Brig. Gen. Dana Demand, commander of the Air National Guard's 105th Airlift Wing, based at Stewart Air National Guard Base, in Newburgh.

The C-5s are among the largest aircraft in the world with a cargo area capable of carrying 100 Volkswagen Beetles. The last C-5 crash before last month happened in 1990 in Germany, during Operation Desert Shield.

Saturday's drill will allow officials to put into practice response plans developed to deal with virtually any sort of major accident or disaster. Communication among the various organizations in-volved in responding to such a crisis is the key to an effective response, officials said.

While a real C-5 won't be used for the drill, emergency response officials said they will do their best to simulate what it would be like to deal with the crash of such a large aircraft, including issues such as dealing with the cargo and fuel carried by the plane.

"It's as close to real life as we could possibly get," said Keith Davidson, deputy coordinator for the county Department of Emergency Response.

Anthony Farmer can be reached at apfarmer@poughkeepsiejournal.com