Good day SMAA members and SMO supporters. Great news and a date for your diary.

8.30am to 12 noon at Observation Deck, South Side of Santa Monica Airport. American Red Cross Santa Monica and our own SMO DART (Disaster Air Response Team) have partnered to create their second disaster response exercise, after their first successful exercise on January 14, 2017. (see details here).

Our exercise assumes:

1.) 5.30am, 7.8 earthquake has struck Los Angeles , creating extensive damage, loss or life and injuries. The freeways are ruined and surface streets are blocked and impassable with collapsed buildings and people escaping damaged areas.

2.) At 8.30am a SMO DART aircraft launches from the damaged, but operational Santa Monica Airport , carrying disaster response personnel to provide a Santa Monica city-wide damage assessment. One of the first urgent needs is for blood plasma.

3.) At 9.30am a SMO DART aircraft launches to act as a communications relay aircraft, with Red Cross and SMO DART pilots to provide a communication link between Red Cross teams, POC, SMO ground operations and SMO DART aircraft.

4.) At 10.00am A SMO DART fleet of volunteer pilots gathers to transport blood plasma from the Red Cross processing facility in Pomona, adjacent to the Brackett Airport (POC) to Santa Monica (SMO) over the shattered freeways and blocked surface streets.

5.) Between 10.30am to 11.30am the SMO DART “Blood Air Bridge” aircraft land at SMO and unload blood plasma containers at SMO. Several SMO DART aircraft will be available for public display and inspection during the event.

6.) 12 noon. Event concludes with thank you’s to all volunteers and participants and a picnic lunch.

We need volunteers! Pilots, aircraft, ground marshallers, escorts and greeters for community visitors, media briefers and desk people for membership, volunteers and supporters.

Will you join us? email info at santamonicaairport.info with your preferences and availability or call (310)845-6551.

Join us, support SMAA and observe this exercise that convincingly demonstrates the value of SMO to the City of Santa Monica and surrounding communities.

Thank you, Dave.

Dave Hopkins
Vice President, Santa Monica Airport Association