More than 1,200 people from the Airport Authority, government departments, airlines and related organisations havetaken part in the largest-ever annual aircraft crash exercise at the airport.

The full-scale crash exercise began at 6am today. It aimed to ensure people working at the airport are well versed in emergency procedures and have the skills and expertise in effectively managing crises.

Mock emergency: Firefighters help the 'injured' off the plane and treat them on the airport grounds and in makeshift tents.

The mock exercise involved an inbound Airbus A330 passenger aircraft, with 311 passengers and 9 crew members on board, experiencing 'heavy smoke' in the cockpit while preparing to land at the airport.

Though the aircraft landed successfully at 6.15am, the 'fire' spread to the passenger cabin. A total of 130 people were 'injured' and 'admitted' to hospital. About 56 fire services appliances and police emergency vehicles were used.

The whole exercise ended before noon, and the airport's operations remained unaffected during the drill.

The authority's Airport Management Director Howard Eng said participating parties will use lessons learned to improve and enhance their preparedness and response should a real crisis crop up.

"As we are expecting the A380's entry into service next year, this year's exercise sharpens the readiness of the airport community to receive the biggest airliner ever," Mr Eng said.

The authority runs more than 30 small and large-scale crisis-simulation drills every year, covering a wide range of possible emergency situations such as terminal-building evacuations and infectious-disease scenarios.