11:22 a.m. — It was just a drill, but the Rome Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and the Floyd County Emergency Management Agency played it for real Sunday.

An emergency beacon from a simulated plane, N154GA, inbound to Richard B. Russell Regional Airport from Maury County, Tenn. alerted authorities to a possible crash — and the beginning of the drill.

The search for N154GA began.

12:30 p.m. — A room full of camouflaged volunteers and professional emergency personnel are briefed on the circumstances surrounding the missing aircraft.

“Remember, safety is our first priority,” said Squadron Commander Capt. Philip Boylan.

2 p.m. — A plane in the air locates the simulated crash site and directs ground units to a location near Everett Springs Road in Armuchee. As the units arrive, there’s a witness to the simulated crash, along with very real gunshots from a nearby property.

The nine members of Ground 1 disembark, unpack a portable beacon-detecting device and don bright orange vests to identify their presence to hunters.

Click here to visit the Rome Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol Web site.

The crews begin making their way toward the crash site, but the guide plane has difficulty locating the team because of thick underbrush. A mirror and some communication get things rolling.

“Bring (the plane) ten degrees to your left 922,” CAP Ground 1 team leader Barry Loudermilk called to the plane, as a cadet signaled it with a hand-held mirror. “If you’ve seen the target, can you lead us in?”

Loudermilk, who is also a state House representative for Floyd and Bartow counties, got his reply.

“If you follow that road, it will lead you right in,” the pilot responded.

Click here to visit the Floyd County EMA Web site. 2:58 p.m. — “They say typically when a plane crashes it doesn’t look much like an airplane anymore,” said CAP 1st Lieutenant and drill coordinator Brad Prater, preparing the cadets for what lay ahead.

The problem is that, in essence, an emergency is the unexpected.

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After about 30 minutes of marching through the muddy terrain, the downed plane and an injured pilot are located. The pilot is given basic medical help before being taken from the scene by the EMA.

The unexpected factor then reveals itself — the injured pilot says a passenger left the scene looking for help.

3:30 p.m. — The CAP and EMA hastily form several teams to search the woods for the lost passenger.

“We know he’s in this area somewhere, looking for a road,” Floyd County EMA Assistant Director Tim Herrington tells the squads preparing to enter the woods.

Stretching out in a line, but keeping within each others’ sight, searchers take methodical steps through the bramble-filled swampy terrain.

The undergrowth is too thick for the guide plane to be of any use, and sight on the ground is so limited that the searchers could walk within 20 feet of an unconscious person and not see him.

4:20 p.m. — In the end, a muffled response to the searcher’s calls and a small amount of movement saves the simulated crash victim’s life. As the team locates its quarry — on private property — a curious hunter, who happens to be the property owner, walks up.

This, too, becomes a lesson: When on private property, explain yourself and be polite, Prater said.

“It went pretty well,” Prater said after the lengthy drill concluded. “We are able to do a lot of tabletop training, but this gets it in out in the real world with the unexpected.”