37000 Feet | Browse and search NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System |
|
Attributes | |
ACN | 1387186 |
Time | |
Date | 201609 |
Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
Place | |
Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
State Reference | US |
Aircraft 1 | |
Make Model Name | B737-800 |
Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
Flight Phase | Taxi |
Flight Plan | IFR |
Person 1 | |
Function | Ramp |
Person 2 | |
Function | Ramp Vehicle Driver |
Events | |
Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Vehicle |
Narrative:
We got done working the flight; ready to push out. I was wing walking the right side; heading to pick the wands. I did notice the food truck in between the flag poles and at that point I felt the truck was clear and it was okay to push. The pusher got the okay from captain; in turn gave me ready to go signal. I took my position by the wing and as the plane was moving; I noticed the food truck was moving from the corner of my eye. I was looking at the roadway; the pickup truck that went behind the plane during pushback and the wing all at the same time. I realized the food truck was getting close to the wing so I signaled to the pusher to stop. The plane stopped and the truck moved forward. While checking the clearance of the wing and the clearance of the roadway; I gave the push truck driver the okay.we completed the dispatch process not ever once noticing that we had made contact with the food truck. I walked back into the ready room; and I was to go to lunch. I was told after 20 minutes past departure that the wing had made contact with the food truck. We went to look at the video. I couldn't see the contact from the video; I still believed that we hadn't made contact with anything. After 10 minutes of viewing the video (a total of a half hour in all) they asked me to write a statement; which I did.the supervisor conducted the investigation. About 10 minutes into that; a manager walked in; taking part in the investigation. I was told I was going to be suspended and they took my badge pending a hearing. If I thought we hit the wing; I never would've let that plane go; I never saw contact. If the food truck driver saw the contact; why didn't he get my attention and not let us salute that plane off? If any of our supervisors were told of possible plane damage; why did they do anything to stop that plane from taking off? I would never endanger the lives of the passengers on that flight and would've immediately stopped and reported it.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Two Ramp Personnel (one driver and one wing walker) reported that they were told after departure that when they pushed back an aircraft; the right wing made contact with a food truck.
Narrative: We got done working the flight; ready to push out. I was wing walking the right side; heading to pick the wands. I did notice the food truck in between the flag poles and at that point I felt the truck was clear and it was okay to push. The pusher got the okay from Captain; in turn gave me ready to go signal. I took my position by the wing and as the plane was moving; I noticed the food truck was moving from the corner of my eye. I was looking at the roadway; the pickup truck that went behind the plane during pushback and the wing all at the same time. I realized the food truck was getting close to the wing so I signaled to the pusher to stop. The plane stopped and the truck moved forward. While checking the clearance of the wing and the clearance of the roadway; I gave the push truck driver the okay.We completed the dispatch process not ever once noticing that we had made contact with the food truck. I walked back into the ready room; and I was to go to lunch. I was told after 20 minutes past departure that the wing had made contact with the food truck. We went to look at the video. I couldn't see the contact from the video; I still believed that we hadn't made contact with anything. After 10 minutes of viewing the video (a total of a half hour in all) they asked me to write a statement; which I did.The Supervisor conducted the investigation. About 10 minutes into that; a Manager walked in; taking part in the investigation. I was told I was going to be suspended and they took my badge pending a hearing. If I thought we hit the wing; I never would've let that plane go; I never saw contact. If the food truck driver saw the contact; why didn't he get my attention and not let us salute that plane off? If any of our supervisors were told of possible plane damage; why did they do anything to stop that plane from taking off? I would never endanger the lives of the passengers on that flight and would've immediately stopped and reported it.
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.