Tulsa Airport Officials, First Responders Run Tornado Drill

Area first responders Thursday worked on honing their skills in case a tornado hits one of our airports.

It's only a drill, but for the next two days they'll put their skills to the test at Tulsa International Airport.

At the Tulsa airport, officials say disaster drills like these are an opportunity to see if there are any weaknesses in the way they respond to emergencies.

They have actors and emergency responders simulating a tornado barreling through the heart of the airport.

"It's basically to test our ability to respond to an accident. The FAA requires our airports to do this every three years. This is of course our third year of doing ours, and what this does is test our ability to respond to an accident if something like this does happen in the real world," said Daniel Meier.

But something like this has actually happened.

Just two years ago, the "Good Friday Tornado" ripped through the St. Louis International Airport, catching passengers inside the terminal.

"Some of this scenario is based off some of these incidents, so they're responding to a few of them," Meier said.

The drill wasn't a surprise to airport officials, but passengers say they saw the commotion when they checked in.

"It's always good to plan ahead," said traveler Jan Meilner.

Even the actors say the drill made them more aware of what it's like to be caught in the middle of a destructive storm.

"I like the support. I know that if something happens, that we do have the people to get the job done," Darren Powerill, who was an actor in the drill.

Airport officials say every agency participating in the drill will report back in a few weeks with the airport on what went right and what went wrong.