BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The 117th Maintenance Group held a Crash, Damaged and Disabled Aircraft Recovery exercise here at the Southern Museum of Flight on May 19.
The CDDAR training program is designed to provide Airmen the opportunity to take part in hands-on training that simulates a scenario in which an aircraft has malfunctioned or been disabled in some way, and needs assistance or recovery.
Senior Master Sgt. Stephen Harris, the Isochronal Inspection and Aero Repair Superintendent with the 117th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, led the exercise.
If an accident with an aircraft happens, it’s up to our team to go out and get that aircraft off of the runway or out of the woods, wherever it might be, and back to operational status, said Harris.
The particular scenario today was modeled to simulate an aircraft submerged in mud, after it slid off of the runway.
“The scenario we wrote for this one would be like a real-world scenario where it landed, and all three landing gear buried in the mud,” said Harris.
It’s a tough, dirty job that can be tricky without the highly-trained Airmen taking part in the exercise.
“We try to mitigate extra damage to the aircraft so the investigation team can figure out what happened,” said Harris.
The training was supported by the Small Air Terminal, Emergency Management, Civil Engineering, Traffic Management Office, Force Support, Security Forces, Airfield Management, the Army National Guard’s 20th Special Forces and the Birmingham Airport Authority.