News Releases

Owens Relocates Donated FedEx 727 Aircraft to New Center for Emergency Preparedness

The donated FedEx 727 aircraft was transported on a special flatbed trailer designed to haul large cargo.

PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP, OH – Owens Community College’s recently donated FedEx Boeing 727 aircraft made one final trip prior to beginning its new career as a permanently-stationed aircraft rescue simulator for first responders with the help of Worldwide Aircraft Recovery Ltd. Specializing in disassembling, packaging, transporting and reassembling aircrafts, Worldwide Aircraft Recovery Ltd. provided their expertise in moving the 85,975-pound Boeing 727 on wheels from Toledo Metcalf Field Airport in Millbury to the new Center for Emergency Preparedness, which is located in Lake Township.

“Owens Community College’s Center for Emergency Preparedness continues to invest in the future of higher education by providing first responders and students with new simulated training opportunities that support classroom learning through the use of state-of-the-art educational resources,” said Tom Pack, Owens Director of the Center for Emergency Preparedness. “The donated Boeing 727 represents the latest training simulator available to first responders and students for experiential learning and is a welcome addition to the emergency preparedness facility.”

Owens’ new aircraft rescue simulator traveled on several roads to its final destination at the Center for Emergency Preparedness, including Ohio State Route 795.

The Center for Emergency Preparedness’ new aircraft rescue simulator, which is 133 feet in length, will afford first responders the opportunity to conduct realistic, hands-on scenario training involving a major aircraft. Owens’ new training simulator is 34 feet in height and will provide trainees with the latest in educational resources to conduct multi-agency response scenarios such as bomb searches, drug searches, hazardous material emergencies, hostage situations, rescue operations and medical emergencies.

Additionally, the aircraft can also be filled with theatrical smoke to simulate dust, fire or hazardous material fumes, as well as stage movable vehicle accident training, featuring extrication exercises. Currently, Owens serves as home to the only aircraft rescue simulator in Northwest Ohio. The 40-year-old donated airplane previously provided FedEx with more than 18 years of service, transporting packages to destinations throughout the United States.

The donated aircraft arrived at the College’s Center for Emergency Preparedness from Toledo Metcalf Field Airport in less than an hour.

The relocation efforts of the Boeing 727 aircraft from Toledo Metcalf Field Airport to Owens’ Center for Emergency Preparedness were coordinated by Worldwide Aircraft Recovery Ltd. based in Bellevue, Neb. The internationally-recognized organization was responsible for dissembling the aircraft’s two wings, two outbound engines, and the vertical and horizontal tail, and transporting the expansive aircraft on a special flatbed trailer designed to haul large cargo.

Worldwide Aircraft Recovery has relocated over 2,500 aircrafts ranging from priceless vintage (Douglas World Cruiser) to modern jets (F-15s) and has worked with such organizations as NASA, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and the U.S. Air Force Academy, among others.

Worldwide Aircraft Recovery transported the aircraft to Owens with a police escort.

Other state and local agencies and organizations that assisted with the aircraft relocation efforts included Toledo Edison, the Ohio Department of Transportation, Buckeye CableSystem, Time Warner, Wood County Sheriff’s Office, Perrysburg Township Police Department and Lake Township Police Department, among many other groups.

Owens officially unveiled its new $20.5 million Center for Emergency Preparedness in April 2007. The new Center for Emergency Preparedness fulfills a need for a rather expansive complex within the region that can provide “real-world” training in a safe and controlled environment. Potential training scenarios that can be conducted within the new facility include those related to natural and manmade disasters involving hazardous materials, confined spaces, riots, entrapments and weapons of mass destruction. Currently, there is no higher education facility for multi agencies to conduct concurrent emergency response training in the Midwest. The federal government operates the only other emergency response facilities somewhat similar in stature. Owens’ facility currently offers 14 simulators/props for scenario-based training.

Owens Community College is one of the fastest-growing higher educational institutions in Ohio. On the Toledo-area and Findlay-area campuses, Owens serves more than 45,000 credit and non-credit students. Owens is committed to providing small classes, personal attention and unmatched affordability. Owens Community College offers associate degrees that transfer to baccalaureate degrees in the Arts and Sciences and over 130 technical program areas in Agriculture, Business, Health Sciences, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Skilled Trades, and Engineering and Transportation Technologies. Owens students also can earn the first two years of a bachelor’s degree with a smooth transfer to any area four-year college or university. For more information, visit www.owens.edu.