The landing light lens of an aircraft with a wingspan of 77'10' contacted a vehicle as the crew taxi...

Narrative:

While PIC and sitting in the right seat of gulfstream iv we landed in vny. After a normal landing on runway 16R and rolling to the end we were cleared to taxi to the FBO via taxiway a. I called the FBO on the ground and asked and received instructions to enter the FBO ramp via taxiway A-1. After turning onto taxiway A-1 the pilot flying slowed and proceeded slowly as it appeared clearance for taxi was less than desirable. This taxiway is well marked on the commercial approach chart and airport diagram. There are no restrictions shown and it appears like any other taxiway on the airport. After passing the first hangar we decided the wing-tip clearance was not sufficient because adjacent to the hangars there were several vehicles parked on and protruding into this taxiway. At this point we decided to shut down the engines and get towed on to the FBO ramp. We put the landing gear pins in and the tug hooked up and pushed the aircraft back to the entrance of A-1 and came around to the ramp on A-2. We completed a normal turn-around; deplaned a passenger & baggage and boarded one additional passenger; refueled; uplifted catering; and serviced the lavatory and water. During this time the second PIC informed me that he had seen a small crack in the plexiglas lens and as a precaution placed a piece of aircraft speed tape over the crack. We departed as scheduled. We landed and secured the aircraft quickly as we had completed a long duty day with augmented crew. Two days later after conducting a detailed post-flight inspection; it was noticed that the left wing tip lens support bracket (underside) for the light lens was scratched. It was determined that a portion of this bracket was bent and may have prevented normal movement on the floating lens. That day the other two flight crew members received a call from the chief pilot informing them that we may have come in contact with a vehicle while on the taxiway at vny. Two maintenance technicians were sent to replace the lens and determine with engineering support; that the scratch was within tolerance and the aircraft was returned to service. The reported contact of our wing to the vehicle appeared to be the wing sliding over the roof edge of the vehicle. No impact or abnormality was felt by the crew or passengers. None of the several ground support personnel or the vny airport operations person on scene reported to me or the crew that they suspected that we may have contacted the vehicle. This taxiway; like several others at vny should be limited to small aircraft and noted on the airport diagram e.g. Wing span; weight; etc. At no time should an active taxiway have personal vehicles parked within designated taxiway area. The FBO dispatcher may not have been aware of the parked vehicles when they advised us to use that taxiway; A-1. FBO personnel need to be aware of the normal routes; current status and restrictions before advising pilots. They should also be trained appropriately.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The landing light lens of an aircraft with a wingspan of 77'10' contacted a vehicle as the crew taxied cautiously on VNY Taxiway A1; the minor damage went undetected for several days.

Narrative: While PIC and sitting in the right seat of Gulfstream IV we landed in VNY. After a normal landing on Runway 16R and rolling to the end we were cleared to taxi to the FBO via Taxiway A. I called the FBO on the ground and asked and received instructions to enter the FBO ramp via Taxiway A-1. After turning onto Taxiway A-1 the pilot flying slowed and proceeded slowly as it appeared clearance for taxi was less than desirable. This taxiway is well marked on the commercial approach chart and airport diagram. There are No restrictions shown and it appears like any other taxiway on the airport. After passing the first hangar we decided the wing-tip clearance was not sufficient because adjacent to the hangars there were several vehicles parked on and protruding into this taxiway. At this point we decided to shut down the engines and get towed on to the FBO ramp. We put the landing gear pins in and the tug hooked up and pushed the aircraft back to the entrance of A-1 and came around to the ramp on A-2. We completed a normal turn-around; deplaned a passenger & baggage and boarded one additional passenger; refueled; uplifted catering; and serviced the lavatory and water. During this time the second PIC informed me that he had seen a small crack in the plexiglas lens and as a precaution placed a piece of aircraft speed tape over the crack. We departed as scheduled. We landed and secured the aircraft quickly as we had completed a long duty day with augmented crew. Two days later after conducting a detailed post-flight inspection; it was noticed that the left wing tip lens support bracket (underside) for the light lens was scratched. It was determined that a portion of this bracket was bent and may have prevented normal movement on the floating lens. That day the other two flight crew members received a call from the chief pilot informing them that we may have come in contact with a vehicle while on the taxiway at VNY. Two maintenance technicians were sent to replace the lens and determine with engineering support; that the scratch was within tolerance and the aircraft was returned to service. The reported contact of our wing to the vehicle appeared to be the wing sliding over the roof edge of the Vehicle. No impact or abnormality was felt by the crew or passengers. None of the several ground support personnel or the VNY Airport Operations Person on scene reported to me or the crew that they suspected that we may have contacted the vehicle. This taxiway; like several others at VNY should be limited to small aircraft and noted on the airport diagram e.g. wing span; weight; etc. At no time should an active taxiway have personal vehicles parked within designated taxiway area. The FBO Dispatcher may not have been aware of the parked vehicles when they advised us to use that taxiway; A-1. FBO personnel need to be aware of the normal routes; current status and restrictions before advising pilots. They should also be trained appropriately.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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	957781
Time
Date	201107
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	VNY.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Medium Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 135
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Air Traffic Control Fully Certified Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Air Traffic Control Non Radar 34 Air Traffic Control Radar 34 Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 9000 Flight Crew Type 200
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 55 Flight Crew Total 20085 Flight Crew Type 1800
Events
Anomaly	Ground Event / Encounter Vehicle

The landing light lens of an aircraft with a wingspan of 77'10' contacted a vehicle as the crew taxied cautiously on vny taxiway A1; the minor damage went undetected for several days.