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A ramp crew member reports his concerns about a safety hazard caused by the 100 percent oversteer warning system siren sounding off inside the cab of their supertugs during aircraft towing operations. The loud; shrieking siren sound overwhelms the ground controller; ramp controller and tug operator's efforts to communicate with each other; especially when crossing active runways and taxiways. The siren cannot be turned off unless the aircraft is disconnected from the supertug.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1286132 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201508 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Ramp |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
While making a turn within the safe limits on taxiway bravo; the 100 percent over steer siren went off. This siren is a poor design function of the supertugs. This siren is so loud that it keeps you from both concentrating on moving the plane in a safe manner and also from hearing and communicating on both our hand held radios as well as our air to ground radios we use to communicate with the FAA tower and also our own ramp tower. I feel this is a life and death situation due to the fact that we are crossing active runways and also moving around on active taxiways. This siren will not shut off until we lower the plane and disconnect from the plane.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A ramp crew member reports his concerns about a safety hazard caused by the 100 percent Oversteer Warning System siren sounding off inside the cab of their supertugs during aircraft towing operations. The loud; shrieking siren sound overwhelms the Ground Controller; Ramp Controller and Tug Operator's efforts to communicate with each other; especially when crossing active runways and taxiways. The siren cannot be turned off unless the aircraft is disconnected from the Supertug.
Narrative: While making a turn within the safe limits on taxiway bravo; the 100 percent Over Steer siren went off. This siren is a poor design function of the supertugs. This siren is so loud that it keeps you from both concentrating on moving the plane in a safe manner and also from hearing and communicating on both our hand held radios as well as our Air to Ground radios we use to communicate with the FAA Tower and also our own Ramp Tower. I feel this is a life and death situation due to the fact that we are crossing active runways and also moving around on active taxiways. This siren will not shut off until we lower the plane and disconnect from the plane.
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.