Experiences in medical coverage of airport disasters at Logan International Airport in Boston.

Experiences in providing medical coverage for airport disasters at Logan International Airport (LIA) in Boston are presented from 1963-1982. The paper traces the history of the medical facility at LIA and describes the factors to be considered in planning disaster coverage at a major airport. It analyzes the aircraft accidents that have occurred at LIA using the type of accident as a guide for medical planning. It delineates the various phases of aircraft emergency procedures and the medical action that follows such occurrences. Various components of medical action, from the time of notification to rescue and triage, are presented discussing the need for each component. The Medical Action Flow chart and alternate schematic arrangements for rescue, triage, and evacuation are presented in sketches. The need for an overall Medical Command and the concepts of Primary Triage and Secondary Triage are explained.