Air disaster training

Over twenty years ago members of the Cleveland search and rescue team were involved in the immediate aftermath and subsequent search for survivors of the Locherbie air disaster. There were things seen that night that team members will never want to see again.
We all hope and pray that type of event will never happen again but, as a rescue team we all know we must be prepared for the next one.

Aircrash sites are extremely dangerous places for rescuers to work especially if it occurs in a remote location such as moorland or mountains – places well away from the heavy equipment and resources of the professional emergency services

Rescuing survivors of air crashes puts the rescuers themselves in grave danger so team members must be trained in identifying the hazards and managing the risks as well as the technical skills required in removing seriously injured casualties safely from the confined spaces of a badly damaged aircraft

The team has been trained by members of the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service and have carried out training exercises at the SERCO’s International Fire Training School at Durham Tees Valley Airport