Narrative:

Landed 27L; exited at A1. Was cleared to gate. Approaching [gate] at an angle and saw normal guidance on the apis/safe park system. Correct aircraft type; flight number; green distance thermometer; and distance beyond 50 feet at that point. Also noticed a catering truck seemingly in the scan area; and definitely in the way. I commented to the first officer that I would normally see stop/obst in red; but that was not the case. I waited until the truck moved towards the 1R door for the aircraft at the adjacent gate. It looked to be clear; so I continued using the apis guidance. The green distance thermometer began its movement upward; and distance remaining began the countdown. At about 25 feet remaining I saw a ramp person in front of me jumping up and down and waving his hands. I stopped immediately. The distance remaining was 22 feet; still showing green on the thermometer. There were no marshallers during the process other than the ramp agent who appeared in front of me. I looked out to the left and saw the winglet in very close proximity to the top rear of the truck; and wasn't sure if any contact was made at that point. There was about 10 minutes of discussion between a number of ground personnel in the vicinity of the winglet. No one ever plugged in on the ground to speak with me; so I called ops to find out if it was safe to continue taxi. A few minutes later a marshaller come to the front of the aircraft and motioned me to continue forward. Since apis was still showing green and normal; I continued to parking. Centerline was maintained throughout taxi in procedure.after the passengers deplaned; I went down to the ramp to speak with the people present; including the catering truck driver. They told me the only damage was to the bottom most static wick on the left winglet. The catering truck driver said he never saw my aircraft approaching the gate. He had pulled forward to go to door 1R on the adjacent gate; but apparently stopped short due to other ground equipment. I have no idea why the apis system did not pick the truck up during its initial scan. I believe that once the countdown begins and within 50 feet; new obstructions are not recognized; but we were initially beyond that with good guidance. After parking I logged the item for maintenance.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A319 Captain reported slight damage to the static wick on the left winglet resulted from contact with a catering truck during the parking maneuver. Reporter stated the automated park system (APIS Safe Park) gave no warning that the truck was in a potential collision area.

Narrative: Landed 27L; exited at A1. Was cleared to gate. Approaching [gate] at an angle and saw normal guidance on the APIS/Safe Park System. Correct aircraft type; flight number; green distance thermometer; and distance beyond 50 feet at that point. Also noticed a catering truck seemingly in the scan area; and definitely in the way. I commented to the FO that I would normally see STOP/OBST in red; but that was not the case. I waited until the truck moved towards the 1R door for the aircraft at the adjacent gate. It looked to be clear; so I continued using the APIS guidance. The green distance thermometer began its movement upward; and distance remaining began the countdown. At about 25 feet remaining I saw a ramp person in front of me jumping up and down and waving his hands. I stopped immediately. The distance remaining was 22 feet; still showing green on the thermometer. There were no marshallers during the process other than the Ramp Agent who appeared in front of me. I looked out to the left and saw the winglet in very close proximity to the top rear of the truck; and wasn't sure if any contact was made at that point. There was about 10 minutes of discussion between a number of ground personnel in the vicinity of the winglet. No one ever plugged in on the ground to speak with me; so I called Ops to find out if it was safe to continue taxi. A few minutes later a Marshaller come to the front of the aircraft and motioned me to continue forward. Since APIS was still showing green and normal; I continued to parking. Centerline was maintained throughout taxi in procedure.After the passengers deplaned; I went down to the ramp to speak with the people present; including the catering truck driver. They told me the only damage was to the bottom most static wick on the left winglet. The catering truck driver said he never saw my aircraft approaching the gate. He had pulled forward to go to door 1R on the adjacent gate; but apparently stopped short due to other ground equipment. I have no idea why the APIS system did not pick the truck up during its initial scan. I believe that once the countdown begins and within 50 feet; new obstructions are not recognized; but we were initially beyond that with good guidance. After parking I logged the item for maintenance.

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.