The training exercise is mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test the airport’s emergency plan, Morgantown Fire Chief Mark Caravasos said.

Several local emergency responders, including Morgantown Fire Department (MFD), Mon Health EMS, Morgantown Police Department (MPD), TSA, Monongalia County Health Department and MECCA participated. Airport maintenance workers are also trained to fight fires and are the first on the scene of any airport emergency, Caravasos said. He said he’d eventually like to see a full  time city fire department  at the airport.

He said the exercise is a great opportunity for different agencies that normally don’t work together to practice handling a real emergency.

WVU Fire Extension Service provided liquid propane fueled aircraft simulators, a helicopter and small passenger plane, which enhanced the training, Caravasos said.

It's an opportunity for the airport's Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting crews to exercise, train and work with the local emergency response agencies that back them up, said Bryan Rodgers, director of University Park Airport.

"What we try to do is develop a scenario that is as real world as possible," he said.

That scenario was a mid-air collision between two planes. And it involved two crash sites.

Rodgers said the intention was to split the resources and tax the system.

"The exercise is based around a commercial air carrier," he said. "We don't script it to any great level of detail because we want people to rely on their training, but we have a framework drafted up in order to get the exercise kicked off and get people responding in the manner that they've been trained."

The exercise involved local police and fire departments, emergency medical services, hazmat teams and other local, state and federal government and community agencies, along with the airport's on-site ARFF crews.