ST. LOUIS — If you noticed smoke near St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Saturday, don't worry, it was only a drill!
Emergency crews had a training exercise simulating a plane fire.
It's a situation the airport never wants to see, but one Deputy Director of Airport Operations and Maintenance David Kulinsky, said they have to prepare for.
"Safety is our number one concern at this airport," he said.
That's why every three years St. Louis Lambert Airport holds a full-scale exercise with a simulated aircraft.
According to Kulinsky, it's to ensure the airport, EMS and fire departments are all on the same page, if the unthinkable takes place.
"It's extremely important that we get everybody together to make sure that we can help break some of those gaps that happened during a real-life emergency," he said.
The training drill Saturday revolved around a hypothetical accident, where a plane engine sucks in a drone during takeoff, according to Kulinsky.
"We practice the communications plan, make sure we practice escorting individuals. It takes a team effort throughout the airport to really understand how this operates, and how we all fit together, and everybody plays their roles," he said.
Airport officials said drones are something that airports across the country are worried about. Kulinsky said recently there was an unidentified drone at Lambert Airport, which almost shut everything down.
"We've been having these drone exercises about once a month for the past three or four months, so it definitely helps us out that we have been prepared and know exactly what to do if we spotted an actual drone at the airport," he said.
60 volunteers participated in the training, acting as injured victims, so EMS and firefighters could practice triage.
Becky Lagore, an employee of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, said their team participates in the drill, along with chaplains.
"Mental health is health, and people are in high stress situations, and they are very worried about their loved ones, and they need that extra layer of support," she said.
It's support that everyone at the training is ready to provide, if our city ever finds itself in this kind of emergency.
"It is so important to provide people with the support they need and answers that they need and any kind of resources that they may need," Lagore said.
Kulinsky said officials debriefed about what went right and wrong following the drill. They will collect information with the airport's Emergency Management Department and have another meeting in the coming week.