CHATTANOOGA, Tenn — Flashing lights cut across the runway. Smoke rises in the distance. First responders rush in from every direction.
It looks real. But it’s training.
The Chattanooga Fire Department shared more than 2 dozen photos from Tuesday’s full-scale emergency drill at the Chattanooga Airport, where crews simulated a jet crash to test how agencies respond in a real disaster.
The images show firefighters, police and medical teams working through a chaotic scene on the tarmac, with mock victims, a staged fuel leak and a fire as part of the exercise.
The airport says the drill is required every three years by the Federal Aviation Administration.
It brings together multiple agencies from across Chattanooga and Hamilton County to practice how they would respond to a major emergency…