A voice crackled over a radio saying an MD-80 jet crashed just after takeoff from Washington Dulles International Airport.
But it takes a turn for the better:
But [Saturday], it was only a drill aimed at improving preparedness should the real thing ever happen.
Jurisdictions throughout the area, including those from Virginia, Washington DC and Maryland, participated in the drill. For my part, I was one of scores of Amateur Radio operators who provided communications support. Our collective assignment focused on supporting aid to the victims. We had a grunch of operators at the airport itself, some on buses used to transport victims to area hospitals, and more at the hospitals themselves.
Whenever victims were dispatched to a hospital, whether by bus, ambulance or helicopter, the word was relayed via Amateur Radio to the hospitals, so the staff could prepare for their arrival. A new twist that was added to this drill was putting location-reporting systems on the buses. A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver provided tracking information to the operator on the bus, and the receiver was connected to a radio which transmitted that position every couple of minutes. The signals were picked up by other Amateur radios and retransmitted until they reached a corresponding receiver at the Command Post at the airport. A computer connected to the receiver would translate the message into positioning information on a map, so the volunteer staff could keep track of the buses as they dispersed across the region.
There a very importing point to be made here: on top of all these Amateur Radio operators volunteering their time on a Saturday to support the drill, all of the equipment, the radios, the batteries, the antennas, the computers, all of it, was provided by the Amateurs themselves. We give our time, our money and our knowledge for this kind of support, which happens whenever and wherever there's a disaster, and our services are requested.
It's one of the reasons why I'm proud to be a member of this fraternity. If you're interested, you should check it out.
UPDATE: I've found a more comprehensive article on the drill.
