Southwest Airlines has donated its long-serving Cabin Emergency Evacuation Trainer (CEET) to the Texas A&M Engineering Extension (TEEX) in College Station.
The trainer, known as “Poolie,” was moved from Southwest’s corporate campus in Dallas on September 21 to its new home at TEEX’s “Disaster City” to be used for training first responders.
Acquired by Southwest in 1995, Poolie is made from an actual 737-200 fuselage. The 42-seat trainer can tilt and simulate smoke and fire, and it was the first of its kind in the U.S. to offer movement on all three axes for realistic emergency training.
It was named in honor of Sandy Pool, a longtime Southwest inflight instructor.
Southwest stated on Wednesday that the donation to Texas A&M comes as the airline develops a newer 737 Max 8 CEET.
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Poolie will be mounted among trees to replicate a plane crash scenario, providing a realistic environment for first responders.
“This is a great collaboration with Southwest Airlines,” said Scott Salter, TEEX Rescue Training Program director, in a news release from the carrier. “It adds a new element to Disaster City that we haven’t had before.”
The equipment will be used for hands-on training to help firefighters and other emergency personnel prepare for real-world situations, including elevated rescues, accessing compromised aircraft, and safely evacuating victims.
