Air carrier flight crew reported leaving the taxiway and entering the ramp area at CRW airport without clearance while maneuvering the aircraft to park. Flight crew cited poor ramp lighting and awkward gate positioning as contributing to the event.
Synopsis
Air carrier flight crew reported leaving the taxiway and entering the ramp area at CRW airport without clearance while maneuvering the aircraft to park. Flight crew cited poor ramp lighting and awkward gate positioning as contributing to the event.
Narrative
Last night taxiing into CRW we pulled up to the gate adjacent to the ramp area still on the taxiway. The Captain went to maneuver the airplane towards the line so we could pull straight into the gate. During this time the ramp crew did have the X signal with their wands signaling to us that it was not safe to pull into the gate which we saw the entire time. We stopped once we maneuvered the aircraft on the taxiway and waited for the ramp crews to give us the signal to taxi in to park which we did safely and uneventfully. After parking I went down to conduct my postflight walkaround inspection and was met by the Ramp Supervisor. She raised her voice at me and was extremely emotional stating we did not respect their X signal to stop. She raised her voice at me and said something along the lines of are you guys kidding me!? When the X is up you stop! I could file a report on you guys." She was very confrontational. I calmly apologized and stated we were just getting maneuvered into position to pull in once they gave us the go and that I would express her concerns with the Captain which I did immediately. We both felt we were still on the taxiway and we were just maneuvering to get the airplane in position to taxi in to the gate. We talked with ramp crew while at the gate leaving CRW the next day around XA:00 and they showed us the line that separates taxiway from ramp area. We agreed that the Captain did cross the line before stopping which he took full ownership of. We stopped shortly after making the turn and we did not see anything that would have been unsafe.The root cause was a combination of dark taxiway; ramp area; awkward gate setup; and a miscommunication of procedures between this particular Ramp Supervisor and us the pilots who were just looking to get into a better position to actually pull into the gate once the crew did give us the signal to continue. We did not see the particular line which is where the ramp begins.The taxiway and ramp areas around the gate are very dark. The line that we crossed is very difficult to see at night. The gate is also on an awkward angle when pulling in which is why we maneuvered before stopping. Suggestion would be better lighting around the ramp and maybe a section in the company pages to alert crews of this if it is indeed something that becomes an issue."
Second reporter narrative
As we were taxiing toward the gate area at CRW; the three marshallers appeared to be in place but had the lighted wands up in 'X'. This is very common when they aren't ready for us to taxi into the gate. This particular gate was at a blind sharp angle. To make for a better line-up position; I slowly pulled forward of the line-up line. As I turned to the right; toward the line; the 'X' was still in place; so I stopped the aircraft mid-turn. We were visibly clear of all obstacles; and I was positioning the aircraft with the intent to stop once properly lined up. We were still outside the 'box'. After I stopped the aircraft; the marshallers signaled to continue; and we were brought into the gate without incident. The supervisor approached the FO on his walkaround and began yelling at him in an unprofessional manner. He politely apologized and stated that we were just lining up the aircraft and had no intent to park ourselves with the 'X' up; but that we were going to stop once the nose was in position. She appeared to take personal offense to all of this; even though we were outside the box; so we decided to submit this report.I had a supervisor walk me out on the ramp to Spot C1 to get a good look at it during daylight. There was a black dotted line; just to the inside of the taxi line; that I maneuvered inside of while I was in my turn to the right; for the angled gate. At night; the lineup line; as well as that dotted line; were difficult to see. It is my recommendation that the ramp at CRW be better lit at night. If I had seen that black dotted line; I would have stopped the aircraft outside it.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.