Exercise to simulate a plane crash held at Logan Airport

BOSTON – Several Massport emergency services participated in a simulation exercise at Logan Airport on Friday. Rescue crews ran through a scenario in which two planes crashed on the tarmac.

“When something serious happens, we all work together in a unified command structure so everyone knows what they’re doing and is on the same page,” said Chief Joseph Degrace of Massport Fire Rescue.

Emergency landing at Logan Airport

The training takes place just days after the crash of a small Cape Air plane. emergency landing on one wheel due to a problem with the chassis.

“Within seconds, our airport manager was on site and got the pilot and people out of the plane. That's because that's how we practice,” said Ed Freni, Massport's aviation director.

The simulation involved 100 passengers on board a JetBlue jet and nine more on a smaller plane. As the passengers exited the plane, they were color-coded based on their injuries.

Red represents critical medical care; green represents what Massport calls “walking injured” passengers, passengers who are injured but able to move independently. Yellow passengers fall somewhere in between. A black designation means the passenger is “non-viable,” which could indicate that a passenger has died.

“This type of exercise has to be done every three years, but we do it more often,” Freni said.