PART 121 CARGO CARRIER PIC EXPERIENCES MANY DELAYS AND GND CREW FLC COORD PROBS DUE TO TERMINAL AREA WX. TXWY RWY SURFACE CONDITION ICE SNOW. DEICING PROC PROBS.
Synopsis
PART 121 CARGO CARRIER PIC EXPERIENCES MANY DELAYS AND GND CREW FLC COORD PROBS DUE TO TERMINAL AREA WX. TXWY RWY SURFACE CONDITION ICE SNOW. DEICING PROC PROBS.
Narrative
FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW WAS FORECAST. ALTHOUGH HVY SNOW ACCUMULATION DID NOT AFFECT PHL; SNOW AND ICE DID COVER ACFT. EXTREME CONGESTION AND SEQUENTIAL PARKING OF A SERIES OF ACFT; ACR Y; ALL AWAITING OUTBOUND DEICING. ALTHOUGH THE PAX TERMINAL IS SOME DISTANCE FROM OUR CARGO FACILITY; EVIDENTLY ACR Y WAS USING THE TXWYS NEAR OUR PARKING AREA AS A 'SPILL-OVER' AREA TO ACCOMMODATE THEIR DIFFICULT GND SIT. APCHING THE ACFT; I ASKED THE MAINT TEAM TO JOIN ME IN THE COCKPIT TO ASSESS THE SIT. I DETERMINED THAT PHL DID NOT HAVE THE 'NEW' SUPER-TYPE II FLUID PERMITTING GREATER HOLDOVER PERIODS. I ASKED IF THEY WERE PLANNING ON USING THE TYPE II FLUID AT OUR RAMP GATE; OR CLOSER TO THE RWY. THEY INDICATED THAT OUR COMPANY DID NOT HAVE THE AUTH TO DEICE/ANTI-ICE ANYWHERE BUT ON OUR OWN PROPERTY. MANY DELAYS ENSUED. LOADING PROBS; LATE TRUCKS; ETC. DURING THE INTERIM; WE ATTEMPTED TO GET A HANDLE ON 'HOW' WE COULD EXPECT TO EXPEDITE OUR RAMP/RWY DEP. PHL ATIS NOTED THAT THE PHL 'SNOW/ICE PLAN' WAS IN EFFECT. NOWHERE IN OUR PUBS WAS THERE AN OUTLINE OF WHAT THAT MEANT. I CALLED CLRNC DELIVERY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT WE COULD EXPECT. HE DECLARED ACR Y WAS HANDLING ALL RAMP OPS (INCLUDING THE CARGO AREA) AND TO CALL THEM. THEY DIRECTED US TO CALL THEIR MAINT ON YET ANOTHER FREQ. CLRNC/GND TURNED OVER ALL TFC/MOVEMENT CTL TO ACR Y RAMP; BECAUSE VIRTUALLY EVERYBODY ELSE WAS USING ACR Y FOR THEIR OWN DEICING ANTI-ICING PROCS. I DISCUSSED WITH ACR Y RAMP AND MAINT OUR PLAN AND THE NECESSITY TO TALK WITH THEM WHEN WE WERE READY. BOTH FOLKS DENIED IT NECESSARY TO SPEAK WITH THEM DIRECTLY; SINCE WE WERE NOT USING THEIR SVCS. AFTER ABOUT 3:30 OF DELAYS; HAVING SPOKEN WITH OUR DISPATCH CTL BY TELEPHONE OF THE PROBS THERE IN PHL; OUR MAINT WAS READY TO CONTINUE PREPARING FOR OUR DEP. I AGAIN ASKED IF WE COULD MOVE CLOSER TO THE RWY PRIOR TO APPLYING THE TYPE II FLUID. NOT ALLOWED. ASKED IF MAINT COULD PUSH US BACK ONTO THE TXWY; AND WE COULD START ENGS PRIOR TO TYPE II FLUID APPLICATION. THEY SAID NO. WE AGAIN CONTACTED GND CTL FOR THE 'ANTICIPATED' TAXI PLAN WE COULD EXPECT. ONLY BECAUSE THEY CHANGED RWYS ON US; COULD WE MAKE THE LIMITED WINDOW. TYPE II FLUID BEGAN; THE FLUID APPLICATION TIME/INITIALS WERE NOTED; OUR HOLDOVER TIME BEGAN. ADVISING GND CTL OF OUR PUSHBACK (REQUIRED BY OUR RAMP COMPANY 'INSERT' PAGE) MET WITH THE SAME 'RUN-AROUND' AS BEFORE. GND GIVING COMPLETE CTL TO RAMP; RAMP DESIRING OUR CONTACTING MAINT; ETC. EVENTUALLY; WE BROADCAST OUR INTENTIONS ON ALL FREQS; VERIFIED CLR AREA BEHIND US WITH OUR OWN MAINT AND BEGAN THE CLOSE-IN PUSHBACK FROM THE CARGO RAMP. WE CALLED GND WHEN READY TO TAXI WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY AND HEADED FOR RWY 09R AS PLANNED. WE WERE LUCKY IN THAT THERE WERE NO OTHER ACFT POSITIONED IN FRONT OF US UPON ARRIVING AT THE DEP END OF RWY 09R. WE HAPPENED TO BE #1 FOR TKOF. EVEN WITH THIS LUCK; WE ALMOST RAN OUT OF 'HOLDOVER' TIME. WE WERE THE 'FIRST' ACFT DEPARTING FROM RWY 09R. TWR HAD NO BRAKING ACTION RPT FOR THE RWY. BY THIS TIME THE MAX XWIND LIMITATIONS WERE ABATED AND THE TKOF WAS UNEVENTFUL. MY OBSERVATIONS ARE SEVERAL AND DISTURB ME FROM SEVERAL ANGLES: NO 'OFFICIAL' BRAKING ACTION RPTS AT PHL WERE AVAILABLE. NO INFO ON THE PHL SNOW/ICE PLAN AVAILABLE. ATC GIVING UP TFC MOVEMENT RESPONSIBILITY TO ONE SOLE OPERATOR; WHO IN TURN CARES NOTHING ABOUT OUR MOVEMENT; NOR WHO EXERCISES ANY OPERATIONAL CTL. NO COORD BTWN THE BIG OPERATOR ON THE FIELD AND OTHERS TO ASSURE UNABATED TRAVERSE TO/FROM THEIR PARKING SPOTS WITHOUT BEING BOTTLED BY OTHER AWAITING ACFT IN THE 'QUEUE' TO BE DEICED. PROBABLE WASTE OF FLUIDS AND LIKELY RETURN TO THE RAMP TO BEGIN PROCESS ALL OVER AGAIN; UNLESS AN APCH SIMILAR TO ACR Y'S 'CAR-WASH' DEICING PROCESS IS INITIATED NEAR THE END OF THE DEP RWY.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.