Investigation of the 1987 Indianapolis Airport Ramada Inn Incident

Abstract

On October 20, 1987, a military reserve aircraft lost power during a transcontinental flight and attempted an emergency landing at The Indianapolis International Airport. The pilot ejected and the disabled and pilotless aircraft struck a bank building. It then skidded across the street and entered the lobby of The Airport Ramada Inn where it exploded. This incident was unusual in that the fatal injuries occurred in individuals on the ground and not in the occupant of the aircraft. Seven people were killed in the lobby area and two were trapped in a laundry where they died of smoke inhalation. A tenth person died of burns ten days later. Minor injuries were reported among four hotel guests, two firefighters and the Air Force pilot. A multiagency mass disaster-plan had been formulated and rehearsed in preparation for the Panamerican Games, which had been held in Indianapolis in August 1987. A number of volunteers arrived before a security perimeter was established. They began an undocumented removal of the bodies from the scene and were about to remove valuables for “safekeeping” when stopped by coroners' office personnel. Fatalities resulted from smoke inhalation, burns or a combination. Bodies were identified by a combination of dental records, personal effects and visual means within 24 hours. The problems encountered in managing this disaster scene will also be compared with previously reported incidents.

International collaboration in mass disasters involving foreign nationals within the EU

“…The logistics, identification challenges, and autopsy procedures have been described in great detail, together with the practical experiences of medico-legal teams investigating single air traffic accidents [13,14,15,16]. In spite of recent concerns related to re-investigation of individual nationals dying abroad [17,18,19,20,21], little has been reported on legislative and practical issues in mass disasters involving victims of various nationalities.…”

Operational Health Pavilions in Mass Disasters: Lessons Learned from the 2023 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

“…Taking into account the events that have occurred and the research that is still being conducted [7][8][9][10], the authors propose an organisational model structured around five functional pavilions, which can be safely set up at the borders of a disaster area. Based on the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams, each of the five pavilions performs an operational function [11].…”