A plane can fall out of the sky anywhere at anytime, Is your department prepared?

[mstrang1 213]

It seems to me that any aircraft down, whether it be a small or large frame aircraft has two outcomes for patients 1) Dead on impact; or 2) "walking wounded" or lighter injuries. It does not seem like there is too much heavy trauma involved oftentimes. Otherwise the hardest obstacles are accessing the site, dealing with the hazmat portion (esp if near waterways/reservoirs/watershed areas) and crowd/press control. Remember, there will most likely be a news chopper above your head, act appropriately. Additionally, you have to worry about what the plane hit (house, building, utility pole, etc).

Chiefs/Company officers should also keep in mind EAP or other similar programs for afterwards. In the case of the Armonk incident, I am sure more than a couple responders have a 16 year old daughter at home. We see dead bodies more often than we should, but some hit harder than others. Man up and talk to somebody about it if you need to.