It's all in the name of training. And it will involve police, ambulance, fire and State Emergency Service  crews who will test run the airport’s emergency plan.

 The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) requires that certified airports such as Port Macquarie, must have a field exercise to test the airport emergency procedures every two years.

The live exercise, Crashex 2012, will be held tomorrow - November 27 - between 8am and noon. 

The exercise will consist of "live field activation" of the Port Macquarie Airport Aerodrome Emergency Plan. This will be followed by an exercise to discuss airline activation of secondary facilitation requirements if such an emergency were to occur. That will involve passenger reception, relative reception and media.

The exercise scenario this year has been designed to familiarise emergency services participants with the Port Macquarie emergency plan and focus on a scenario involving a regular public transport aircraft type that is common at Port Macquarie airport.

 The public can expect to see emergency service vehicles from all services (NSW Fire Brigade, Rural Fire Service, NSW Ambulance, SES and NSW Police) around the airport precinct (Tuffins Lane and Boundary Street) and adjacent to the airport runway. 

These vehicles will be participating in the exercise scenario during the stated times.

A local commuter bus will be used to simulate the aircraft fuselage. Due to fire and safety restrictions there will be no fire or visible smoke during this exercise.

Members of the public and other non-participants (including media and tenants) will not be permitted to access the airside areas of the exercise at any time due to aviation security regulations. At no time will normal airport operations or regular flight schedules be affected by this exercise.