ACR PIC RELEASES PARKING BRAKE AT GATE ON ARR WITHOUT CHOCKS. ACFT ROLLS BACK UNTIL GND CREW ALERTS CAPT.

Date: 1996-10 · Aircraft: Commercial Fixed Wing

Anomalies: deviation-discrepancy-procedural-other-unknown|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-published-material-policy|other-unspecified

Synopsis

ACR PIC RELEASES PARKING BRAKE AT GATE ON ARR WITHOUT CHOCKS. ACFT ROLLS BACK UNTIL GND CREW ALERTS CAPT.

Narrative

AS WE TAXIED INTO GATE IN LGA THE GND AGENT MARSHALED US IN WITH WANDS. AS WE APCHED OUR PARKING STOP; HE BROUGHT HIS WANDS TOGETHER AND THEN HELD THEM CROSSED; OVER HIS HEAD; INDICATING WE SHOULD STOP. I SET PARKING BRAKE AND SHUT DOWN ENGS. THE RAMP AGENT WALKED TOWARD THE JETWAY; TOOK A WAND IN EACH HAND; HELD THEM OVER HIS HEAD AND BROUGHT THE TIPS TOGETHER. (THIS IS THE GENERALLY ACCEPTED 'CHOCKS ARE IN SIGNAL.') I THEN RELEASED THE BRAKE AND CALLED FOR THE PARKING CHKLIST. UNKNOWN TO ME; THE ACFT HAD STARTED ROLLING BACK; GND PERSONNEL BANGED ON THE SIDE OF THE ACFT; AND I BROUGHT THE ACFT TO A STOP. THE RAMP AGENT DENIED HAVING GIVEN ME THE 'CHOCKS IN' SIGNAL. AFTER CONSIDERATION I CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT HE EITHER WAS SIGNALING THE OTHER GND CREW TO CHOCK THE ACFT; OR WAS SO USED TO GIVING THIS SIGNAL AFTER STOPPING THE ACFT; THAT HE DID IT WITHOUT THINKING. IN ANY EVENT; I WENT TO OUR OPS MANUAL AND FOUND TO MY DISMAY THAT THERE IS NO OFFICIAL 'CHOCKS ARE IN' SIGNAL. WE HAVE ALL BEEN OPERATING UNDER A NORM WHICH IS NOT PUBLISHED AND IS NONSTANDARD. WE NEED TO EITHER INCORPORATE THIS SIGNAL IN OUR MANUALS OR PUT OUT A LETTER TELLING OUR PLTS NOT TO RELEASE BRAKES UNTIL WE RECEIVE THE 'RELEASE BRAKES' SIGNAL.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.