 |
37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
B737 captain exiting runway 19R on echo reports a near collision with a helicopter air taxiing southbound on alpha at sna.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1154608 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201403 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | SNA.Airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Aircraft 2 | |
| Make Model Name | Helicopter |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying |
| Experience | Flight Crew Total 25000 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Conflict Ground Conflict Critical |
Narrative:
Landed at sna runway 19R. Exited taxiway east. Just prior to turning on to taxiway a noticed helicopter approaching on taxiway a flying southbound; opposite taxi flow; at a high rate of speed. Locked brakes and stopped short of taxiway a to avoid a collision. Ground control was busy with radio communications. The helicopter took no evasive action and passed 30 feet off our nose 10-15 feet above the taxiway. After the helicopter passed us; ground control told us to stop short of taxiway a. Had we not stopped; the helicopter would have collided with our aircraft. After talking to the tower supervisor; my understanding is that ground control; with tower concurrence; can clear helicopters to takeoff from taxiway a opposite the taxi flow of jets exiting runway 19R. I think this is an extremely dangerous practice and collision potential is high. Runway 19L was available to the helicopter for back taxi and takeoff but was not used.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737 Captain exiting Runway 19R on Echo reports a near collision with a helicopter air taxiing southbound on Alpha at SNA.
Narrative: Landed at SNA Runway 19R. Exited Taxiway E. Just prior to turning on to Taxiway A noticed helicopter approaching on Taxiway A flying southbound; opposite taxi flow; at a high rate of speed. Locked brakes and stopped short of Taxiway A to avoid a collision. Ground Control was busy with radio communications. The helicopter took no evasive action and passed 30 feet off our nose 10-15 feet above the taxiway. After the helicopter passed us; Ground Control told us to stop short of Taxiway A. Had we not stopped; the helicopter would have collided with our aircraft. After talking to the Tower Supervisor; my understanding is that Ground Control; with Tower concurrence; can clear helicopters to takeoff from Taxiway A opposite the taxi flow of jets exiting Runway 19R. I think this is an extremely dangerous practice and collision potential is high. Runway 19L was available to the helicopter for back taxi and takeoff but was not used.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.