Endeavors to expand the flight safety programs into the ground safety response to an aircraft disaster have over the last decade involved many flight safety foundations, aviation organizations, pilot associations, and emergency medical societies. Much work has been done to upgrade airport emergency planning and many data from reports concerning airport disaster drills and crashes have been collected.

The goals of an airport disaster plan include the care, treatment and transportation of the wounded with a quality and quantity of care that minimizes the mortality and morbidity of the survivors of the crash. This simple but ambitious challenge is only accomplished by proper pre-planning and management which depends on the quality of the overall plan, the communication systems, the initial life support and resuscitation, the medical equipment, the patient handling and transportation, and the hospital system. According to a variety of reports from many parts of the world, this concept has, however, been difficult to teach, mainly because of insufficient co-ordination in planning, as well as at the scene of the accident.

At Copenhagen Airport — one of the major airports in the northern part of Europe — it was recently decided to have an airport disaster drill. But instead of a “push-button” test it was decided that an executive committee with members from the police, fire brigade, local airport authorities, flight safety council, pilots association, and the medical field should begin the drill by analyzing the topics which are known and expected to be at risk in the overall efficiency.