Show-Me State Times

On Saturday, June 8, 2024, St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) will conduct a full-scale exercise on its grounds. The exercise will utilize Runway 11-29 on the airport's west side and will simulate an accident scenario where a plane ingests a drone during take-off.

The training drill will include an active simulated aircraft fire. Participating in this event as mutual aid partners are several surrounding municipalities and organizations including Abbott EMS, Berkley Fire Department, Ferguson Fire Department, Maryland Heights Fire Department, Overland Fire Department, Pattonville Fire Department, Boeing, City of St. Louis Police and Fire Departments, St. Ann Police Department, City of St. John Police Department, and Woodson Terrace Police Department.

Role players will be included to enhance the realism of the emergency simulation. The full-scale event is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and conclude around noon.

Participants will meet in the parking lot of the Airport Office Building located at 11495 Navaid Road at 8:00 a.m., with buses departing for the exercise location at 8:35 a.m.

Media members wishing to attend must contact STL's Roger Lotz by noon on Friday (June 7). Required information includes name and media organization details.

Observers from the media will view the simulated accident from an elevated area northwest of the runway. This vantage point provides photographers with clear views of the incident scene. Reporters can interview exercise participants in the Friends and Family Center located in STL's Terminal 1 Concourse B later during the exercise. A press conference is also planned during the event to facilitate media participation.

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