JFK Airport Conducts Eerie Plane Crash Drill With Screaming Actors

New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport has recently conducted multiple large-scale emergency response drills, including a simulated plane crash that involved actors pretending to be injured passengers. The airport posted 12 travel notices in October warning of live-fire training exercises, with a significant simulation held on Saturday.

Travelers shared images online showing flames and smoke plumes rising from the tarmac, though the airport assured the public that these controlled exercises were conducted away from public areas and would not impact flight operations. Saturday's drill, however, was a more extensive "full-scale emergency response exercise."

Plane Crash Simulation

The Saturday exercise, which began at 10 a.m., simulated an aircraft crash with actors wearing tags to describe their injuries. First responders practiced evacuating a Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-900 that was used for the drill. According to The New York Times, participants established an emergency response center and shared details of the simulation: an international arrival with 102 people on board. Cloth dummies were used to represent fatalities, and a smoke machine was employed. Unlike a real crash, the aircraft's escape slides were not deployed, and there was no debris on the field.

Sarah McKeon, director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees JFK, noted that in a real accident, the area would be covered in foam. The drill lasted approximately two hours and involved over 100 emergency responders from city, state, and federal agencies.

Regulatory Requirements and Recent Incidents

The Federal Aviation Administration requires commercial airports to conduct a full-scale emergency exercise every three years. The frequency of these recent drills at JFK is not immediately clear.

This simulation was the first full-scale drill at a major New York City-area airport since a fatal crash at LaGuardia Airport on March 22. In that incident, an Air Canada flight with 72 passengers and four crew members collided with a fire truck while landing, resulting in the deaths of two pilots. The fire truck was responding to a separate incident at the time of the collision.

Sources familiar with an investigation told The Wall Street Journal that two air-traffic controllers reportedly left work early before the LaGuardia crash, leaving the remaining staff at the tower with a high workload and no backup. The Daily Mail has contacted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the FAA for comment on these matters.