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MacDill Air Force Base practices crash response

Posted at 6:33 PM, Feb 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-08 18:33:27-05

The Tampa Bay Airfest is back this year, and even though there's never been a crash, the sixth Air Mobility Wing is preparing for one just in case.

The MacDill Air Force Base held a mock crash response exercise Monday, practicing how the base would help potential victims and put out a plane fire, among other elements of a possible crash.

The Airfest has become an every-other-year event at the Air Force Base in Tampa, and features aerial demonstrations by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, which can be extremely dangerous.

The event will also have ground displays of military aircraft, and have military personnel available to show off equipment used to carry out missions.

MacDill calls is an opportunity to say "thank you" to the Tampa Bay community, which recently has pitched in about half of the costs of the event, according to the base spokesperson.