Himachal: Kangra airport conducts full-scale emergency mock drill to test disaster preparedness

Kangra (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 28 (ANI): A full-scale emergency mock exercise was successfully conducted at Kangra Airport on Saturday. The objective of the exercise was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Aerodrome Emergency Plan (AEP) and to enhance coordination among various responding agencies, according to airport officials.
According to the simulated scenario, a Delhi to Gaggal flight (VTABC, Q400 type) reported a starboard engine failure at 1515 hours and requested priority landing. The aircraft was carrying 71 persons onboard. During its approach to Runway 33, the aircraft declared a "May Day" and crashed near the Manjhi River.

Immediately after the report, ATC declared a full emergency and alerted all concerned agencies. Fire tenders, ambulances, medical teams, and the State Disaster Management team rushed to the crash site. Injured passengers were provided first aid and shifted to hospitals, while a few casualties were sent for DNA profiling for identification.
The exercise was closely monitored by Airport Director Dhirendra Singh, SDM Ishant Jaswal, DySP Ankit Sharma, officers from the State Fire Department, local hospitals, and the disaster response team. Coordination and response from all departments were found to be timely and effective.
The exercise aimed to enhance preparedness and ensure an efficient real-time response during actual emergencies.
The exercise followed the recent Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad.
Meanwhile,the Airports Authority of India (AAI) also conducted a mock drill at Chennai International Airport on Saturday to assess emergency preparedness for a potential plane crash.
"This mock exercise drill is a standard practice that airports undertake as part of their Airport Emergency Plan. Usually, we do it at the airport. This is the first time we are doing it outside, as we wanted to assess the preparedness of state authorities following what happened in Ahmedabad," Airport Director of Airports Authority of India, Chennai International Airport, CV Deepak, told ANI.
"We will now hear from independent observers and fill the gaps accordingly... Approximately 300 people participated. Around 55 people participated as passengers onboard the aircraft," he added.
On June 12, a London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed into a hostel complex of BJ Medical College in the Meghani Nagar area of Gujarat's Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.
The DNA samples of 251 victims in the Air India plane crash have been identified.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) Lab in New Delhi is currently working intensively to examine data retrieved from the black boxes of the flight.
According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Crash Protection Module (CPM) from the front black box was safely retrieved, and on June 25, 2025, the memory module was successfully accessed and its data downloaded at the AAIB Lab. Sources familiar with the process told ANI that an identical black box, referred to as a "golden chassis," was used to confirm whether data could be accurately recovered from the black boxes. One black box was recovered from the rooftop of a building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16. (ANI)