An air accident in the salt-lake, for which the activation of the Special National Plan “TEFKROS” was required, was the scenario of the Search and Rescue Exercise (SAR) “TEFKROS 01/2022”, which took place in an area near the Larnaca International Airport. The main purpose of the exercise was to train personnel and familiarize them with the particular environment of the salt lakes, as well as test the specialized equipment, an announcement by the Larnaca Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) says.

The exercise scenario involved a civilian passenger aircraft, which, while landing at Larnaca Airport, experienced a failure of the landing system. As result the pilot had to perform an emergency landing and the aircraft, after skidding off the landing strip, ended up in the salt-lake outside the airport, as the scenario goes on.

In order to deal with the incident, the JRCC activated all the services involved in accordance with the provisions of SAR Plan “TEFKROS”. Police, the Fire Service and in particular the Larnaca Airport Fire Station and the Larnaca Fire Brigade, the General Staff of National Guard with search teams of the Underwater Demolition Team of the Navy Command and the Special Operations Unit of the National Guard participated in the exercise, along with means and personnel from the Larnaca Airport management company Hermes Airports, the Civil Aviation Services of Larnaca Airport, search teams of the Civil Defence Larnaca Department and the Forestry Department, personnel of the Larnaca Airport Lifeguard Team, together with the Coastal Surveillance System and unmanned aerial vehicle operation team of the JRCC.

The operational control and coordination were carried out by JRCC, while the entire preparation and planning of the exercise was carried out in cooperation with all governmental and private bodies involved.