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B737 captain reported deviations from SOP on the ramp after gate arrival led to unsafe conditions.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1566399 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201808 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1201-1800 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Experience | Flight Crew Type 3550.60 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown |
Narrative:
We touched down a few minutes ahead of schedule. We had sent an expect time for our arrival at the TOC (top of climb) via ACARS. While approaching the gate we had to stop short of the J line because there was no one to marshal us to the gate. After about 5 minutes the ground crew very slowly made their way into position for us to continue. After setting the brake the forward cargo door was opened. [From] that point it took 18 minutes for the jetway to be brought to the aircraft. During that time a tug and its carts was placed in a way that blocked egress from the 1R door; if needed. Since the jetway was positioned for an crj the 1L door was blocked as well. All of my exits forward of the wings where blocked. At no time was there any communication with us from the station; despite our repeated attempts to reach them via the published frequency. I contacted the [chief pilot] who also couldn't reach the station or even the station manager via a cell phone number. While this is a horrible customer service experience; waiting nearly 20 minutes for the exit door to open after block in; it is [also] a terrible safety issue. If we had needed to evacuate the aircraft two of my exits where needlessly blocked.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737 Captain reported deviations from SOP on the ramp after gate arrival led to unsafe conditions.
Narrative: We touched down a few minutes ahead of schedule. We had sent an expect time for our arrival at the TOC (Top of Climb) via ACARS. While approaching the gate we had to stop short of the J line because there was no one to marshal us to the gate. After about 5 minutes the ground crew very slowly made their way into position for us to continue. After setting the brake the forward cargo door was opened. [From] that point it took 18 minutes for the jetway to be brought to the aircraft. During that time a tug and its carts was placed in a way that blocked egress from the 1R door; if needed. Since the jetway was positioned for an CRJ the 1L door was blocked as well. All of my exits forward of the wings where blocked. At NO time was there any communication with us from the station; despite our repeated attempts to reach them via the published frequency. I contacted the [Chief Pilot] who also couldn't reach the station or even the Station Manager via a cell phone number. While this is a horrible customer service experience; waiting nearly 20 minutes for the exit door to open after block in; it is [also] a terrible safety issue. If we had needed to evacuate the aircraft two of my exits where needlessly blocked.
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.