FireRescue magazine's Technical Rescue Web column

Aircraft Down! The miracle on Beech Street

By Harold Schapelhouman

“Aircraft down”—two simple words that tend to get the immediate attention of most responders and generally cause concern for most urban emergency responders who live in areas where private and commercial aircraft are constantly in motion over their dense jurisdictions.

The Incident
We recently dealt with the aftermath of a small aircraft incident in which the three individuals on the plane tragically lost their lives. Miraculously (and almost unbelievably), no one on the ground was injured despite the fact that the aircraft crashed into a residential neighborhood after striking a high-tension power tower shortly after take-off in heavy fog conditions in the City of East Palo Alto on Beech Street.

After striking the power tower, one of the wings with a full fuel tip-tank crashed in the play area of a residential childcare center and exploded, igniting the home; however, all seven residents were able to safely evacuate. Portions of the landing gear and one of the engines impacted the carport of the home next door, causing the carport to collapse and sending debris through the roof of the home, just missing the occupants.

The remainder of the aircraft impacted down the street, causing the second fuel tank to burst and igniting another home. The residents were able to evacuate out the rear of the home. After the aircraft crashed onto the sidewalk, the main fuselage ricocheted off the burning home’s landscaped retaining wall and continued down the street, knocking a BMW sedan out of a driveway and shearing off a light pole. The fuselage came to rest on the ground only after striking a parked pick-up truck head-on and igniting everything in the immediate area.

This early-morning incident shocked the neighborhood and community, as residents were preparing their children for school and leaving for work. The incident is still considered active as we continue our post-incident evaluation and formal after-action reporting, and deal with the aftermath of a traumatized community.

Lessons Learned
One of the first lessons you learn from these types of incidents is that they don’t end quickly, so you should plan for sustained operations and significant community involvement. We were fortunate enough to have field commanders on scene who are also involved with our urban search and rescue task force. Their knowledge and experience with responding to catastrophic events helped them make critical decisions and quickly determine command and control.

Sensitivity to the visibility of deceased victims should be high on the list of items you need to address during operations. At a minimum, cover the bodies with disposable medical blankets and/or tents and tarps not only to preserve the evidence, but also out of respect for surviving family members, the public and the deceased individuals.

Other items to consider when creating an action plan include addressing community concerns about the actual response or other relevant issues, such as residents’ displacement support, and post-incident psychological concerns. In our particular incident, liability questions regarding the culpability of the pilot and/or the aircraft have delayed insurance claims, and a number of residents had neither insurance nor proof that they were legally documented residents, which has further complicated support and outreach.

The fire department should be the lead agency during the first phases of the incident, but should transition command to law enforcement as fire, medical and hazmat issues are resolved and the investigative portion of the incident begins.

During the investigative phase, determine who you should report to if/when you locate any aircraft parts. Aircraft incidents will more than likely draw the attention and require the response of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), especially if fatalities are involved or damage is significant.

Aircraft incidents also draw attention from the media; therefore, all involved agencies should be prepared to deal with an onslaught of cameras, reporters and media vehicles in the area. We attempted to coordinate with the news media by initially providing them with pool camera footage. Eventually, we gave them tours of the site, along with regularly scheduled press conferences that addressed important and relevant public updates.

Finally, if possible, take advantage of technology. We were able to use new technology, such as audiotape from a Shot Spotter gun-fire system, to pinpoint the exact crash time. The NTSB is evaluating the engine sound, which may be a first for them since this type of information has never been available before. We also used videotape from first-arriving law-enforcement units and digital photographs taken by residents’ phones shortly after the crash in an attempt to recreate the incident. Working in conjunction with Exponent Failure Analysis Inc., we’re now attempting to recreate the residents’ exact locations on a Google Map template to better understand how their locations and actions saved their lives that morning.

Conclusion
When a plane falls from the sky and into your response area, the incident is inevitably very challenging, but it can be even more challenging if your agency isn’t prepared to deal with the dramatic effects on the community. The “miracle on Beech Street” appears to have occurred partly out of divine intervention or shear luck, but it can also be attributed to the skill of responders who, within 36 hours, returned the neighborhood to a new normal.


Harold Schapelhouman is a 28-year veteran firefighter with the Menlo Park (Calif.) Fire Protection District. At the start of 2007, he became the first internally selected fire chief in 21 years for his organization. Previously, he was the division chief in charge of special operations, which includes all district specialized preparedness efforts, the local and state water rescue program, and the local, state and National Urban Search and Rescue Program (USAR).

Schapelhouman was the task force leader in charge of California Task Force 3, one of the eight California USAR teams and one of the 28 federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS/FEMA) teams.


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