NATCHEZ — Local first responders will put their emergency response plans to the test Wednesday during a disaster drill at the Natchez-Adams County Airport.

Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the airport’s fire team and local firefighters, paramedics, members of the Air Evac Lifeteam and Natchez Regional Medical Center staff will work together to respond to a mock 50-passenger jet crash at the airport.

Natchez Police Capt. Tom McGehee, chairman of the Local Emergency Planning Committee, said local responders and hospitals are required to test disaster plans each year to ensure their effectiveness.

The committee reviews local agencies’ emergency plans and plans the drill to test them. McGehee said emergency plans are often written that outline duties for certain agencies that are impossible to fulfill.

“By doing this, it allows us to see what everyone is capable of doing so we can adjust the plans if needed,” he said.

The drill will test the airport’s response plan, and the airport’s fire team will be the first responders on the scene.

Emergency crews will find an 18-wheeler trailer and a school bus at the scene of the crash both carrying actors portraying victims.

McGehee said the drill will require sheriff’s deputies to evaluate how they would set up traffic control and a landing zone for three Air Evac Lifeteam helicopters at the airport and will require multiple flights from the helicopter team.

Ambulance paramedics will triage disaster victims and aid the Air Evac team in getting victims to the hospital.

The crews will regroup at Parkway Baptist Church, and victims will be sent to Natchez Regional from the church.

The drill will help reduce confusion between different agencies at the incident sites of any future disasters, McGehee said.

Testing emergency plans through drills such as the plane crash take critical seconds off emergency response time, McGehee said, and help the local emergency agencies better serve the community.

“There are lots of things that go on that the public has no idea that we do to cut minutes and seconds off response time to help us serve them better,” he said.