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A ground controller issued taxi instructions for an arriving aircraft to proceed down an alley to gate. Unknown to the controller; that gate was already occupied by an aircraft not visible from the newly constructed control tower.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1312899 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201511 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | SFO.Airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Environment | |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Medium Large Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Ground |
| Qualification | Air Traffic Control Fully Certified |
| Experience | Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 3.5 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | ATC Issue All Types Conflict Ground Conflict Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Clearance |
Narrative:
Aircraft X landed and checked into my frequency for gate X. I looked at that gate (not fully visible from the tower) and didn't see a tail sticking above the terminal; so I told him to taxi via a. I returned to other tasks. About 5 minutes later I looked again at that alley (there was no other traffic in that area) and saw aircraft X stopped in the middle of the alley. I questioned him about whether he was waiting for a ground crew. It took him a moment to respond; during which time I observed him beginning a 180-degree turn in the alley. He replied that there was another aircraft in gate X. Tug 40 called for push. This delayed my cautionary advisory to aircraft Y that there were bag carts behind his right engine and to use minimum power leaving the alley. We have been instructed that aircraft cannot push and start in this alley (they must tow all the way out to twy a before starting) and I do not know what the wingtip clearances are in there.the pilot should have advised me before turning in to the alley that the gate was occupied. This will continue to be a problem in the new tower; since gates X and Y are directly below the tower and not visible. We should install a downward-pointing cctv to allow us to see whether those gates are in use.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Ground Controller issued taxi instructions for an arriving aircraft to proceed down an alley to gate. Unknown to the Controller; that gate was already occupied by an aircraft not visible from the newly constructed Control Tower.
Narrative: Aircraft X landed and checked into my frequency for Gate X. I looked at that gate (not fully visible from the tower) and didn't see a tail sticking above the terminal; so I told him to taxi via A. I returned to other tasks. About 5 minutes later I looked again at that alley (there was no other traffic in that area) and saw Aircraft X stopped in the middle of the alley. I questioned him about whether he was waiting for a ground crew. It took him a moment to respond; during which time I observed him beginning a 180-degree turn in the alley. He replied that there was another aircraft in gate X. Tug 40 called for push. This delayed my cautionary advisory to Aircraft Y that there were bag carts behind his right engine and to use minimum power leaving the alley. We have been instructed that aircraft cannot push and start in this alley (they must tow all the way out to Twy A before starting) and I do not know what the wingtip clearances are in there.The pilot should have advised me before turning in to the alley that the gate was occupied. This will continue to be a problem in the new tower; since Gates X and Y are directly below the tower and not visible. We should install a downward-pointing CCTV to allow us to see whether those gates are in use.
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.