Air Carrier flight crew reported they had to suddenly brake to avoid collision with a truck crossing their path.
Synopsis
Air Carrier flight crew reported they had to suddenly brake to avoid collision with a truck crossing their path.
Narrative
We were taxiing out on taxiway 1 in ZZZ going westbound. We were behind another commercial aircraft; and I had left about 3 plane lengths distance behind them. We were taxiing at about 15 on the GS indicator. We had our taxiway light on; along with our position light on steady and anti collision light on. We were running the before takeoff checklist to the line. We were at the final 2 items - FMC and MCP (mode control panel). I was verifying and confirming both were set as directed by the checklist. When I looked up; I saw a fuel truck immediately ahead of us off of our left side; within a few feet. I immediately slammed on the brakes. I initially thought it was a terrorist attack - that someone had hijacked a fuel truck and was planning on driving into a plane. I realized it was not; and he went ahead of our nose north bound; missing us by what must have been inches at this point. At this point it was also twilight; and the truck had no lights on. I called the FAs and made sure no one was injured and everyone was seated - had anyone been standing up; they would have fallen and surely would have been injured due to the sudden stop. We reported it to ramp. The 2 pilots took a minute to breathe and recollect our thoughts before continuing on. Looking back I should have taken a few more minutes as I came down from an adrenaline high and got very shaky and had troubles focusing on the task at hand.
Second reporter narrative
While on taxi out for flight; we were taxiing behind a commercial aircraft. There was approximately three aircraft lengths between our aircraft and the preceding aircraft. During the before takeoff checklist to the line; ramp control handed us off to ground. While resuming the checklist the Captain applied the brakes and made a comment about a fuel truck that had driven in front of us left to right; moving from the south to the north. When I looked up we were slowing and the fuel truck was within 15 feet of the aircraft. The Captain asked me to notify ramp of what transpired; and I complied. There was a brief discussion with ramp control about the truck number and location of the event. We continued taxi to hold short of taxiway 1. The airplane was taxiing at a safe speed; well below the max speed for a straight taxi. This is day three with the Captain and he has; on the 3 previous legs; taxied in and out below 20 kts. While I don't know the exact taxi speed and didn't have an opportunity to check; in my professional estimate it was around 15 knots groundspeed.The Captain's quick response on the brakes prevented a collision with the truck. While conditions were favorable on the taxiway surface; I think it should be stated that if there had been contamination; a collision would have likely been unavoidable. While holding short of taxiway 1; the CA was taking notes about the situation. Ground control asked if we were on frequency and I responded in the affirmative; and notified her that we needed a few seconds before we would be ready to taxi. The Captain asked why I said we needed a minute and I told him because I noticed him taking down information. I checked the ATIS and noticed the altimeter setting at ZZZ had decreased .02 and tried to convey the information to the Captain. I nudged him a couple of times before he acknowledged. He said he was ready to continue taxing and we got clearance from ground. We continued to taxi south and the Captain called the flight attendants to verify they hadn't been injured. The taxi and takeoff continued without incident until climb out. While everything was safe; the Captain missed a radio call; and I could tell he still had his mind on the incident. We made a decision to mentally reset and discuss what happened and that we would write an report. The flight continued without further disruption. The Captain asked later if I recalled if the fuel trucks had his vehicle lights on and I could not recall. The aircraft had standard lights on for the taxi phase of flight; and to the best of my knowledge they were all operative.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.