B787 flight crew reported ground conflict with another aircraft during taxi into gate.
Synopsis
B787 flight crew reported ground conflict with another aircraft during taxi into gate.
Narrative
Upon arrival; we were assigned [a gate]. Ramp Control verified that the gate was open and cleared us to taxi in. As we approached the gate on taxiway 1; we saw that there was a 737 parked at [the adjacent gate]. It looked like wing clearance might be tight on the right side; and we remarked about this. We verified that there was a wing walker for the right wing; and that they were giving a 'clear' signal. Not knowing the parking geometry; we continued to follow the marshaller's guidance; thinking that we would stop behind the other aircraft. The relief pilot and I looked out the right window to try to verify that the wingtip remained clear. After parking; we went back and looked out the cabin windows and saw that our right wing was much closer to the wingtip of the other aircraft than we had thought; and we had also blocked the other aircraft in.As we got off the plane; there was a station/ramp (not sure which) employee there who told us that they made a mistake in letting us park there; as they are not supposed to use that gate for a wide body when [the adjacent gate] is occupied. They seemed more concerned with blocking the other aircraft from pushing back; and didn't seem aware of the potential wingtip clearance issue. In hindsight; we obviously should have stopped short and verified wing clearance before taxiing in. As it turns out; we should have waited for the other aircraft to push. I can't believe the wing walker on that side gave a thumbs-up all the way in; but we could have stopped using our own judgment. Also; trying to verify wingtip clearance out the flight deck window is ineffective in a 787. You can just see the wingtip; but it's so far back and the window distorts the image.
Second reporter narrative
After landing on Runway XXC we were cleared for a routine taxi to the international terminal. We were assigned [a gate] by the international gate control. We entered the ramp at the taxiway. As we began our turn towards [our gate] we did observe a B737 parked at [the adjacent gate]. It did appear tight; as we began following our marshaller's instructions to turn in. As we continued in toward the lead-in line; the wing walkers were giving the instruction to continue. We approached at a very slow speed. As we completed the taxi-in we set the parking brake and completed the parking checklist. We then noticed many employees coming down their jet bridge stairs and began taking pictures with cell phones. We went back into our cabin to look out our cabin windows to see that we were less than 5 ft. away from contacting the 737 wingtip at [the adjacent gate]. There was no contact made between the two aircraft. Neither the chart nor the ref pages mention any clearance issues between these two gates. No red paint lines on the ramp outlining the silhouette or a no transgression zone for [the adjacent gate] that would interfere with aircraft parking at [our gate] specifically wide body aircraft. Furthermore; the marshaller continued to steer us into the gate despite the potential for wing overlap and possible contact.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.