An air carrier pilot reports a ground agent moving a jetbridge toward the aircraft with the engine s...

Narrative:

We came into park at gate X. We were marshalled into the gate into the normal parked position. Once we were parked; the crew went through the shutdown checks and the propellers were feathered with the engines still on. I did not get a 'chocks in' sign from the ramp right away. While I was looking for a ramper to confirm the chocks were set before I shut the engines down; the gate agent started to move the jetbridge to the aircraft. She got to the nose of the aircraft and showed no sign of stopping. I signaled to her to stop moving the jetbridge; which she did for 5 seconds and started to move the bridge again into the propeller safety area. I immediately shut down the engines to prevent a jetbridge strike. I then got a signal that the chocks were set after I had to shut down the engines. I spoke to the gate agent afterward and told her that she cannot move the bridge that close to the airplane with the engines running. Her response was that it takes the bridge so long to move that she would start moving it to the airplane to help get the people off quicker and that she knew what she was doing. I told her that would be a good idea but she had to wait until the propellers are stopped. I explained that if she got too close that the propellers would destroy the bridge and likely kill her. She ignored what I was saying; gave me a very dirty look and went back to her work not understanding the danger in which she put herself and my passenger. The gate agents are not trained well enough. We rush people into operation without the knowledge to operate safely. When they do something wrong; they are fired and another new person takes their place with the same results. The jetbridges contribute to the problem by running in slow speed. The agents get complacent while driving and do not pay attention. It takes an average of 3-5 mins to get the bridge connected to the airplane while traveling about 15 ft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN ACR PILOT REPORTS A GND AGENT MOVING A JETBRIDGE TOWARD THE ACFT WITH THE ENG STILL RUNNING. AGENT DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE SEVERITY OF THE ACTION.

Narrative: WE CAME INTO PARK AT GATE X. WE WERE MARSHALLED INTO THE GATE INTO THE NORMAL PARKED POS. ONCE WE WERE PARKED; THE CREW WENT THROUGH THE SHUTDOWN CHKS AND THE PROPS WERE FEATHERED WITH THE ENGS STILL ON. I DID NOT GET A 'CHOCKS IN' SIGN FROM THE RAMP RIGHT AWAY. WHILE I WAS LOOKING FOR A RAMPER TO CONFIRM THE CHOCKS WERE SET BEFORE I SHUT THE ENGS DOWN; THE GATE AGENT STARTED TO MOVE THE JETBRIDGE TO THE ACFT. SHE GOT TO THE NOSE OF THE ACFT AND SHOWED NO SIGN OF STOPPING. I SIGNALED TO HER TO STOP MOVING THE JETBRIDGE; WHICH SHE DID FOR 5 SECONDS AND STARTED TO MOVE THE BRIDGE AGAIN INTO THE PROP SAFETY AREA. I IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN THE ENGS TO PREVENT A JETBRIDGE STRIKE. I THEN GOT A SIGNAL THAT THE CHOCKS WERE SET AFTER I HAD TO SHUT DOWN THE ENGS. I SPOKE TO THE GATE AGENT AFTERWARD AND TOLD HER THAT SHE CANNOT MOVE THE BRIDGE THAT CLOSE TO THE AIRPLANE WITH THE ENGS RUNNING. HER RESPONSE WAS THAT IT TAKES THE BRIDGE SO LONG TO MOVE THAT SHE WOULD START MOVING IT TO THE AIRPLANE TO HELP GET THE PEOPLE OFF QUICKER AND THAT SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOING. I TOLD HER THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA BUT SHE HAD TO WAIT UNTIL THE PROPS ARE STOPPED. I EXPLAINED THAT IF SHE GOT TOO CLOSE THAT THE PROPS WOULD DESTROY THE BRIDGE AND LIKELY KILL HER. SHE IGNORED WHAT I WAS SAYING; GAVE ME A VERY DIRTY LOOK AND WENT BACK TO HER WORK NOT UNDERSTANDING THE DANGER IN WHICH SHE PUT HERSELF AND MY PAX. THE GATE AGENTS ARE NOT TRAINED WELL ENOUGH. WE RUSH PEOPLE INTO OP WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE TO OPERATE SAFELY. WHEN THEY DO SOMETHING WRONG; THEY ARE FIRED AND ANOTHER NEW PERSON TAKES THEIR PLACE WITH THE SAME RESULTS. THE JETBRIDGES CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROB BY RUNNING IN SLOW SPD. THE AGENTS GET COMPLACENT WHILE DRIVING AND DO NOT PAY ATTN. IT TAKES AN AVERAGE OF 3-5 MINS TO GET THE BRIDGE CONNECTED TO THE AIRPLANE WHILE TRAVELING ABOUT 15 FT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 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.

Attributes
ACN	780407
Time
Date	200803
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	SF 340B
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
ASRS Report	780407
Events
Anomaly	conflict : ground less severe ground encounters : vehicle non adherence : published procedure non adherence : company policies non adherence : far
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : unable
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Company
Primary Problem	Company

An air carrier pilot reports a ground agent moving a jetbridge toward the aircraft with the engine still running. Agent did not acknowledge severity of the action.