Tulsa Airport Firefighters Trained For Emergency Landings

A charter plane carrying The TU men's basketball team made an emergency landing Wednesday afternoon.

Authorities said one of the engines gave out shortly after the plane took off. Fortunately, there were no injuries and the entire incident wrapped up in less than half an hour.

2/3/2016 Related Story: Jet Carrying TU Men's Basketball Team Makes Emergency Landing In Tulsa

It’s a scenario Tulsa Airport firefighters train for every day; they’re dedicated solely to the airport to help in situations like this.

Minutes after taking off from Tulsa International Airport around 3:15, the pilot made a call to air traffic controllers.

Controller: "Dynamic 974 you say lost one engine, can you tell me which one it is?"
Controller: "Dynamic 974, roger, descend at pilot's discretion, maintain 2,500 and expect a visual approach to runway 3-6 right."
Pilot: "3-6 right, Aerodynamics 974."

"Well, when the plane did come in, it did bank kind of hard coming in out of the south. So we could tell something was wrong," said fire equipment operator, Jerry Camp.

Airport firefighters were already on the runway before Aerodynamics 974 made its emergency landing. The crew and their trucks are prepared for fires, explosions, anything to do with airplanes.

Camp said, "We train on pretty much a daily basis out here on different scenarios that could happen. Basically, out here, we're preparing for the worst."

Firefighters said plane malfunction rarely happens, and when it does, it's normally the plane's flaps or tires - not engine failure.

"It was something unique. You know, we have different times planes come in - flaps not working or the engine may have minor problems with it or something like that. It was my first with the engine out, so it was a little exciting," Camp said.

The five-person crew must go through extra, special training to be able to serve at the airport.