Quick response at Santa Barbara Airport avoids bigger C-130 disaster
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Operations are back to normal at the Santa Barbara Airport thanks to airport staff and emergency crews that quickly handled Sunday night's C-130 crash landing.
"Given all of the circumstances, this went about as well as it could possibly go," Airport spokesperson Deanna Zachrisson said.
All seven of the plane's passengers got out safely.
Even late Sunday night, when the airport was mostly empty, firefighters were on the runway ready to respond before the plane came down.
"As long as we have aircraft that are flying, we have response here," Zachrisson said. "So [on-site City Fire] is able to respond within two minutes to any place on the airfield… We did have some advanced warning. The plane did let the tower know that it was in trouble. So fire crews were already in place by the time the plane was approaching. So we were prepared."
The plane caught fire as it skidded down the runway with only one landing gear operating. A fuel tank fell also off the plane, catching fire and spilling fuel over the plane and runway.
Firefighters at the airport use a special protein-based foam that suffocates any spilled fuel, making sure it doesn't ignite. Santa Barbara started using this foam nearly a decade ago. This version—similar to a heavy-duty soap—breaks down more easily and is more environmentally friendly than the previous version.
Santa Barbara City Fire says Santa Barbara's status as an environmentally-friendly city helped make the switch to a safer foam years ago. Federal mandates from the EPA and FAA now require all airports to use the new version of this foam.
The airport will still do ground testing to check how foam and fuel affected the soil where the plane crashed.
Responders and staff will meet at the airport on Thursday to break down each part of Sunday night's response to determine what can improve.
A previously-scheduled emergency drill that takes place once every three years will happen at the airport next month, even though crews passed Sunday night's scare with flying colors.
"It's not the aircraft that maybe you expect," Zachrisson said. "It's not anything you really can expect. And so that's the best possible training you can get."
