Myrtle Beach airport prepared for a plane to crash into the ocean

A big factor in everyone being safe from yesterday’s airplane crash at the Hudson River in New York was the pilot, and the rescue crew responding quickly in the water.

Because the Myrtle Beach International Airport is so close to the ocean, officials say they have special procedures, if a plane ever hits the water.

Airport Fire Rescue officials roll out the boat they would use to help respond to a water-related plane crash.  It’s called a Zodiac.  They say it can only fit three people, but in an emergency, responders would come from across the county along with the U.S. Coast Guard.

The closest Coast Guard post to Myrtle Beach is in Georgetown, and officials say it would take at least two hours for them to get there.  Along with Airport Fire Rescue, officials say the City of Myrtle Beach would be the first responders to any potential crash scene in the water.

“Our job will be to be transporting the patients, possibly trying to calm everybody down, utilizing their life raft, any flotation devices they have, corralling everybody into one location so that way we can pick them up and take them to shore, and then turn around and do it again,“ Airport Fire Rescue Capt. Donald Ellison said.

Captain Ellison said the rest of the squad would use all the resources they have, including the airplane slide raft as a flotation device.

“We’ll respond to the extent that we can with the equipment we have.  One of the fortunate things yesterday was the middle of New York City has a huge amount of resources.  Obviously, Myrtle Beach is more limited to the types of resources we have,“ Myrtle Beach International Airport Director, Bob Kemp said.

Airport officials also say the ocean’s waves would play a role in slowing rescue efforts depending on how high the waves are.  They say Thursday’s calm water in the Hudson River helped with all the surrounding help they got from responders.