37000 Feet

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B757 first officer reported noticing an unsafe condition on the jetway/aircraft interface; a gap large enough to allow a child to fall to the tarmac.

Narrative:

After completing my walkaround; I entered [the] jetbridge to our aircraft and prepared to reboard the aircraft. At this time; I noticed a safety issue with the loading bridge. There was a huge gap on the left side of the jetbridge where the jetbridge was 'notched out' and did not contact the side of the plane. Approximately a 16'x32' section of the transitional 'lip' on the left side of the jetbridge was missing; which provides the transition from the jetbridge to the plane. Additionally; the jetbridge canopy on the bottom left side was not in contact with the side of the aircraft to provide an effective barrier. The resultant gap was large enough that a teenager or small child could easily fall through to the tarmac below. Additionally; because the inside of the jetway was dark and the outside sun so bright; the 'hole' was brightly illuminated and could easily attract someone's attention. At the time; passenger boarding had not yet occurred; and the captain was still in flight operations. As I had further preflight duties to complete inside the aircraft and could not remain in the jetbridge; I asked a nearby man whether or not he was a supervisor (he was not wearing any identification). I voiced my concern regarding the jetbridge to which he replied; 'it's never been an issue before.' I replied that made no difference whatsoever; it was what it was; and in my mind; it represented a safety hazard to the passengers. I remarked the captain should have a look at it to render his decision and until the captain arrived; would he please not board any customers.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 First Officer reported noticing an unsafe condition on the jetway/aircraft interface; a gap large enough to allow a child to fall to the tarmac.

Narrative: After completing my walkaround; I entered [the] jetbridge to our aircraft and prepared to reboard the aircraft. At this time; I noticed a safety issue with the loading bridge. There was a huge gap on the left side of the jetbridge where the jetbridge was 'notched out' and did not contact the side of the plane. Approximately a 16'x32' section of the transitional 'lip' on the left side of the jetbridge was missing; which provides the transition from the jetbridge to the plane. Additionally; the jetbridge canopy on the bottom left side was not in contact with the side of the aircraft to provide an effective barrier. The resultant gap was large enough that a teenager or small child could easily fall through to the tarmac below. Additionally; because the inside of the jetway was dark and the outside sun so bright; the 'hole' was brightly illuminated and could easily attract someone's attention. At the time; passenger boarding had not yet occurred; and the Captain was still in Flight Operations. As I had further preflight duties to complete inside the aircraft and could not remain in the jetbridge; I asked a nearby man whether or not he was a Supervisor (he was not wearing any identification). I voiced my concern regarding the jetbridge to which he replied; 'It's never been an issue before.' I replied that made no difference whatsoever; it was what it was; and in my mind; it represented a safety hazard to the passengers. I remarked the Captain should have a look at it to render his decision and until the Captain arrived; would he please not board any customers.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.