BANGOR – Nearly 80 state and local emergency workers attended a tabletop exercise at Bangor International Airport on Friday morning, testing their response to a major disaster.

Airport officials, state and local emergency management groups, law enforcement agencies, area hospitals, the American Red Cross, media and other groups spent almost four hours reacting to a mock plane crash at the airport.

Emergency workers had to organize their response to a scenario that included a hijacked plane carrying 130 military personnel that crashed just before the BIA runway on the Odlin Road. Every few minutes the responders learned more about the crash and considered the most efficient execution of assets.

“The dedication of the emergency community has just been outstanding for this event,” said Assistant Fire Chief Vance Tripp Jr. of Bangor Fire Department. “They really came out in full force today and we get a little better each time we do this.”

The purpose of the exercise was to satisfy the Federal Aviation Administration testing requirements and coordinate disaster efforts among federal, state, county and city personnel, Tripp said. Communications among agencies is always the greatest challenge, and this particular exercise was to test the transition between the mock plane crash and the coordinated response of all agencies, he said.

Toni-Lynn Robbins participated in the exercise as a member of the media.