Dozens of volunteers pretended to be victims of an airplane accident during the Emergency Preparedness Exercise (EPEX) at Philadelphia International Airport. The simulated disaster took place Sept. 9 in a far corner of the airport’s property.

This full-scale, mass casualty incident tested the readiness of the city’s airport personnel, Fire and Police departments, Office of Emergency Management, and many other local and regional planning partners.

The EPEX scenario involved a plane that “crashed” on the runway while trying to land in a thunderstorm. Volunteers who posed as victims were made up to look injured in order to create a realistic environment for first responders, who had to triage the patients.

The Philadelphia Fire Department’s Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF) company, known as Engine 78, is based at the airport. It includes a medic unit as well as several specialized vehicles for responding to aircraft emergencies. EPEX involved all ARFF apparatus plus dozens of police vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances.

The Federal Aviation Administration requires the airport to conduct the exercise at least once every three years. The city last did it in 2014.