INUVIK/AKLAVIK - It was a nightmare scenario, which thankfully remained only fictional.

A plane filled with 275 people crashed in the wilderness near Tuktoyaktuk, leaving bloody victims; with severed arms, broken bones and sometimes deadly injuries.

Addressing the assembled officers, Commander of Canada Command Marc Dumais thanked local rangers including Leonard Gordon for their help. "Hopefully, this is a plan that will stay on the shelf and never have to be used for real," he said. - Philippe Morin/NNSL photo

While the blood was fake, and the victims were sometimes-smiling members of the Canadian Rangers, Commander of Canada Command Marc Dumais said the exercise was important.

"The scenario is very complex," he said on April 24, surrounded by moving personnel and stretchers in an Inuvik airplane hangar.

"We've had this plan for some time, but like all plans it can be modernized and improved."

He added the exercise was part of Canada's Major Air Disaster Plan, which seeks to encourage cooperation between rescue forces in times of crisis.

He added that military officers from as war away as Petawawa, Ontario, aided in the rescue.

"There is the airport authority, transport Canada, the RCMP, rescue services, the Canadian forces, and within that the air force, army and navy personnel," Dumais said.

He also praised the Canadian Rangers.

"They are a critical element to everything we do up North," he said, adding their local knowledge could help to navigate terrain quickly and reach downed passengers.

One agreeable 'victim,' Leonard Gordon of Aklavik, pretended to have an arm missing.

"Yeah, it was fun," he said with a laugh, when asked what he thought about the day.

Having been a ranger for 10 years, Gordon said he thought the exercise was wise.

"It's a good thing to have it on. If something goes wrong, we're ready for it," he said.

"Hopefully, this is a plan that will stay on the shelf and never have to be used for real."