My Airport Operations

This past week, the US FAA officially granted airport operators until 30 June 2011 to submit updated Emergency Plans.  Time consuming and often bewildering to the novice, developing an airport emergency plan (AEP) need not rank just below having a root canal for Christmas.  While some airport administrators may elect to engage the assistance of cost effective outside agencies, braver souls will gird their loins, roll up their sleeves and dust off their reading glasses in preparation for the task at hand.

 Details of the new FAA requirements can be found in Advisory Circular (AC) 150/5200-31, Airport Emergency Plans.

The 286 page circular offers specific guidance to airport administrators in the design, development and implementation of the mandatory Airport Emergency Plan.  Key changes and updates include:

a.  AC 150/5200-31, Airport Emergency Plan, has incorporated numerous updated referencing documents and specific web site linkage referencing.

b. The application of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) has been institutionalized and incorporated by reference.

c. Examples of organizational structure are provided.

d. The scope of functional services and responsibilities have been enhanced and aligned to the requirements of public law, national standards, and recently revised advisory circulars.

e. NIMS and ICS training resources have been added and provided with web site links.

f. Hazard-specific details were revised to incorporate essential response actions.

g. Appendix 4, Definitions have been expanded.

h. Appendix 5, Acronyms have incorporated new terms.

i. Appendix 6, Bibliography has been updated and provided with current web site links.

j. Appendix 7, Mutual Aid Agreements have been refined. ¹

 

In keeping with the long term goals for "standardization" as promoted both by ICAO and the FAA, although a 'specific' template is not presented for Airport Emergency Plans, the FAA does recommend each airport emergency plan contain each of the elements and a simple degree of user 'readability' for all incident responders as set forth in Chapter 4, AC 150/5200-31C.

The Basic Plan

By its very nature, the airport emergency plan is a document that:

a. Assigns responsibility to organizations and individuals for carrying out specific actions at projected times and places in responding to an emergency.

b. Sets forth lines of authority and organizational relationships, and shows how all actions should be coordinated.

c. Describes how people and property will be protected in emergencies and disasters.

d. Identifies personnel, equipment, facilities, supplies, and other resources available—within the airport or by agreement with communities—for use during response and recovery operations.

e. As a public document, cites its legal basis, states its objectives, and acknowledges assumptions.

f. Facilitates response and short-term recovery to set the stage for successful long-term recovery. ²

 

Each AEP should be prefaced with the pages as shown.  These key pages enhance the accountability of those with access to the AEP, while making the document 'user friendly' as well.

The primary component – or core- of any airport emergency plan contains five key elements.  The detailed information you present in response to each is essential if an acceptable document is to be created.  In short, your plan must:

1. cite the legal authority for emergency response and operations
2. summarize the situations and conditions under which the plan will be enacted
3. explain in detail, the general concept of emergency operations within the airport environment specific responsibilities for situational planning and operations
4. comply with U.S. 14CFR part 139

In your planning, you identified specific task elements which will come into play in the event of an aircraft accident or incident either on or off airport property.  The performance of tasks within each of these areas – communication, command & control, health and medical, operations, security, firefighting etc--rather than being discussed in detail within the body of the Basic Plan, are instead, spelled out in specific detail in your plan's Functional Annexes.

Customized for the unique environment each airport operates within, individual AEP's should include the following annexes:

•  Command and Control

•  Communications

•  Alerting and Warning

•  Role and duties of the Public Information Officer

•  Protective Actions

•  Role and Responsibilities of Airport Law Enforcement and Municipal Responders

•  Role and responsibilities of Airport Fire Rescue and Municipal Responders

•  Health and Medical operations

•  Airport resource management – supply chains, controls and accountability

•  Emergency Response Operations and Management

Hazard Specific Sections

These sections provide detailed information as to the performance of a particular unit or agency, in response to, or support of, a specific hazard or incident.  During your planning stages you or your committee's Hazard Analysis identified several 'most likely' scenarios with respect to your particular airport operation.  Typical categories of incidents might include:

•  Aircraft accident on airport

•  Aircraft accident off airport

•  Full aircraft emergency

•  Local Standby

•  Non-aircraft accident

•  Unlawful acts of interference

•  Situations involving dangerous goods

•  Natural disasters

•  Emergencies involving geographic features such as airports on or near water

 

This section in conjunction with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP's) and Checklists which follow comprise a stand-alone brief – meaning they can be extracted from the AEP and used as guides for individual incident responders. 

SOP's and Checklists

Each agency or department involved in responding to a specific emergency situation will have set duties, responsibilities and activities which will be coordinated through the Command Center.   Fire Chief, Security Director, Airport ATC, Public Relations Officer, Fire Rescue Team members etc. will have specific actions to take during an accident/incident involving airport facilities or resources.  SOP's and Checklists ensure the activities of each of these team members coincide with the response activities as derived for the AEP. These documents should contain sufficient detail to instruct the responder, yet be general enough in scope to provide flexibility since no one can predict the exact nature or course of an aviation related incident.

 

 

Validation

Even the best planning, decision-making and writing can result in a discord between the written response strategies and what actually occurs.  Validating your AEP requires real-world 'field testing' of response strategies, command and control, lines of communication as well as first responder skills.  Following completion of AC 150/5200-31C 6/19/2009, Appendix 2 (Plan Review Checklist) a full-scale field scenario exercise is in order. 

Both FAA AC 150/5200-31C, Appendix 3, and ICAO document 9137 AN898 Appendix 9 contain exercise evaluation forms useful to the AEP planner.  When used in combination, these evaluative tools provide valuable feedback with which to reconcile the AEP to an airport's real-world capabilities.

 

For More Information

 To lean more on the requirements, form, format and steps necessary in developing an acceptable Airport Emergency Plan visit the following websites:

            http://www.aci-na.org/blog/2010/12/10/faa-extends-deadline-for-airport-emergency-plan-updates/

                http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/150_5200_31c.pdf

            http://www.icao.int/eshop/pub/PUB_Update_Flyer.pdf

            ICAO Document Sales at: sales@icao.int

            US FAA at: www.faa.gov

For Assistance

If you require assistance in developing, drafting, evaluating or updating your airport or air operator emergency plan, contingency plan, SOP's or Checklists, contact Spranza, Inc. or AVSEC-Center.org by clicking the banners on this page, or via email at:

director@spranza.com

Footnotes

1.      AC 150/5200-31C 6/19/2009, ii

2.      AC 150/5200-31C 6/19/2009, Sect 2-4