The Guam International Airport Authority's full-scale exercise tested emergency response capabilities with the aid of dozens of volunteers who helped create the realistic, high-stress environment needed to carry out the simulation.
Among the volunteers was Cassandra Kido, an AmeriCorps volunteer with Guåhan Academy, who said the exercise was a new experience.
Kido said having her mother, Christine, participate alongside her made the experience fun.
"I mean even without her I think I would still definitely do this. But with her, I'm just glad I have someone to be with," she said.
Kido portrayed a victim with a wound to her forearm. She said the exercise gave her an opportunity to put her drama skills to work, although she did not plan to overact because her character was in generally "normal health."
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero encouraged volunteers to perform their roles as realistically as possible to help ensure first responders encountered scenarios that reflected the challenges of an actual emergency.
"As you know, drills are very important, so in times of emergency and crisis, everyone will be trained and know what to do so that lives can be saved," she said during the event.
The full-scale exercise tested the effectiveness of the airport's Emergency Plan, including communications, response capabilities, resource coordination and deployment in real time.
Friday's simulation involved two scenarios. According to GIAA, the first involved a cybersecurity notification from federal partners, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration, about an attempted breach of systems and networks at multiple airports across the United States.
"Under the heightened cybersecurity awareness, an aircraft emergency was also simulated with an inbound flight experiencing left landing gear failure, sliding down runway causing sparks igniting the fuselage, which breaks into two sections," the airport said.
During the exercise briefing, GIAA Executive Manager John Quinata said the simulation provided first responders with an opportunity to train in a realistic environment, identify challenges and improve their emergency response capabilities.
"It's about giving our first responders an opportunity to train in a realistic environment, identify challenges, learn from mistakes, and improve their ability to respond when a real emergency occurs," Quinata said.
Following the exercise, GIAA deemed the test a success. In a statement, the airport said multiple responding agencies demonstrated strong support during the simulated cybersecurity threat and aircraft crash.
"In our last exercise we had included a hijacking scenario in our simulation and now we inserted a cybersecurity component that further tests our responses capabilities to compounded emergencies," Quinata said.
The airport conducts a full-scale exercise of its Emergency Plan every three years to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations under Part 139. The previous exercise was conducted Nov. 15, 2023.
