Air carrier flight crew reported while being marshalled at gate the left wing made contact with airstairs at SKBO airport.
Synopsis
Air carrier flight crew reported while being marshalled at gate the left wing made contact with airstairs at SKBO airport.
Narrative
The entire flight was uneventful; including the approach and landing. VMC conditions prevailed; El Dorado Ground Control cleared us to our assigned Gate 51. As we were approaching the gate area; the safety zone looked clear. We saw the two (2) wing walkers in position and the Marshaller providing us with the standards hand signals. As we are looking for threats; I noticed a broken yellow line to the left of our aircraft and all equipment were to the left of the said line; making it appear that all equipment and obstacles were outside of the safety zone. I proceed forward to the gate following the Marshaller's instructions; confident that the area was cleared; and we could continue to the gate safely. I continued to receive the pull forward hand signals until the Marshaller gave me the stop signal. At that time; I noticed ground personnel rushing to the left side of our airplane wing and the Customer Service Agent unable to move the jet way towards our aircraft. When I made contact visually with Customer Service Agent in the jet way; using hand gestures; I realized that our airplane was short of the correct spot for the Aircraft X. I looked again to the left and noticed that the left wingtip appeared to have made contact with an air stair. I called BOG Operations to validate the situation. Operations replied that there was a possible damage to the aircraft; and they were calling maintenance to initiate an inspection of the left wingtip area. After the air stairs were moved; ground personnel connected the tow bar and with coordination with the flight deck; aircraft was moved to the correct position. As the jet way was attached to the airplane we finished the shutdown checklist. I made an Aircraft Maintenance Logbook (AML) entry stating the damage; then proceed outside with the First Officer to make a visual inspection of the left wingtip area. We took pictures and the First Officer and I performed an exterior inspection of the entire aircraft in case there were other damages; no other damages were found. I queried the supervisor in Bogota regarding the reason for the air stair at the location where it was. Their response was that apparently; another carrier left it and our ground personnel arrived late; rushed in; and missed that the air stairs were inside the safety zone. Once we made it to the ramp; we were approached by a Captain that said that they saw how the incident happened. According to the Captain; when the ground personnel realized the location of the air stairs; they tried to move it by pulling the stairs away as the aircraft was moving. Unfortunately; they were unable to move the stairs in time to prevent the collision with the left wing tip. The First Officer and I are puzzled of why the Marshaller decided to continue to move aircraft and not to stop the movement of airplane until stairs were removed from the safety zone and thus preventing the incident. After we finished the inspections; I made the required calls to the company. We were instructed to remain at the airport in BOG for drug and alcohol test; however; after a few hours; we were instructed by management to depart the airport and proceed to our layover. Later we were notified that the First Officer and I will deadhead next day and proceed to perform the drug test once we arrive at ZZZ airport. Lastly; I tried to contact the Dispatcher but was unable to established communication with them due to poor reception as I was using my mobile phone. Later I was able to reach Dispatch; but at that time an evacuation of operations was in progress. However; I was notified by the Dispatcher that they made the report to the company as well.The cause of this was the non-standard lines and markings in the parking and gate areas. From our vantage point; the area appeared to be clear of obstacles since the yellow line looks like the safety zone is inside of that line. The use of same jet way for different gates in same area. Failure of ground personnel to ensurethat the area was cleared. Failure of ground personnel to stop the aircraft movement as soon they realized the air stairs were inside of the safety zone. Captain reliance on wing walkers and Marshaller to safely pull aircraft safely into the gate. What can be done to reduce the risk of equipment being inside the safety zone; thus; preventing this incident to happen again? Ensure the area is clear by ground personnel before aircraft arrival. If the area is not clear or if not sure; do not provide hand signals directing aircraft towards the gate. The use of more standardized safety zone markings. Since each airport has its own rules regarding markings to delineate the safety zones; a recommendation is to use safety cones to delineate the standard safety zone. That way they can be removed when not in use. Include the nonstandard safety zone marking and other related topics.
Second reporter narrative
Taxiing to the gate in SKBO the aircraft collided with air stairs. We had a short taxi after exiting 13L. I believe we exited at A8; then took B10 into the ramp moving northwest bound toward the gate. I completed the after-landing flows; started a time; and started the APU. We were given our instructions by ground to taxi to the gate and use caution for an aircraft parking at XX and taxiing in the opposite direction. I maintained visual contact with the aircraft until I saw that it had turned toward its parking zone; and just after we made our turn towards the parking zone for our gate. I checked our parking zone and it appeared to be clear. I checked the right side and wing carefully and when it seemed we were just a few feet from the stopping point as indicated by the Marshaller; they signaled for us to stop. After stopping the Captain noticed air stairs close to the left wing tip and we were not certain if we had collided with it. I didn't sense anything other than normal braking on the way in. We had to wait a few minutes for the ground crew to move the air stairs and tow the aircraft into position to attach the jet bridge. After the jetbridge was connected we were able to go outside and assess the condition of the aircraft and we saw that there was a small dent on the left wing leading edge near the winglet. Another pilot from the plane parked immediately to our left approached us and told us they witnessed the entire event. They said that they saw the rampers moving the air stairs as we were still moving under the aircraft's own power which I thought was unusual since the Marshaller was continually waving us in until the plane struck the stairs. I don't recall seeing the air stairs specifically; but from what I saw the zone appeared to be clear. The Captain and I performed a post flight exterior inspection. The Captain then called operations and attempted to call the Dispatcher. Some calls went through and some did not as signal was intermittent; but I do know operations was informed of the situation. We waited at the airport to determine whether or not a drug test was required. The Captain spoke to union leadership and to a Chief Pilot and determined that a drug test would only be required if the local authorities requested it and the Colombian airport authority did not request testing; so it was determined that we would perform the drug test on arrival in ZZZ. I am normally very vigilant in ramp areas; and I thought I carefully checked the zone; but this experience was definitely eye opening. Some of the parking zones in Bogota are unusual as there are some gates with zones that accommodate multiple aircraft and/or aircraft parking at different angles; with several different types of overlapping delineation markings for different aircraft parking arrangements. I believe the unusual safe zone markings definitely contributed to what happened as its possible there may have been confusion on the part of the ground crew and they may have cleared the zone incorrectly for our particular gate since the safe zone is of an unusual configuration. It can be more difficult for the Captain to check the left wing also as they have to focus on the Marshaller; and the left side of the aircraft is where there were multiple different types of markings for YY that may or may not be relevant depending on which line you're entering to park. It may not be feasible to arrange but the use of gates with typical and less confusing safety zone markings that most pilots are more accustomed to would help greatly for Bogota. If there were gates we could expect then we could provide photos of those parking areas to reference and be better prepared for what we might see when entering the ramp/parking zones.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.