A B747-400 ON TAXI FOR TKOF WAS STRUCK BY A TRUCK INCURRING DAMAGE TO #1 ENG OUTBOARD SIDE COWLING.

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WE WERE TAXIING OUR ACFT; A B747-400; FOR TKOF ON RWY 32L (FULL LENGTH) AT ORD. THE TXWYS WERE PLOWED WITH A THIN COAT OF COMPACTED CRUSTY SNOW ON THEM. WE TAXIED FROM THE Z PAX CONCOURSE ON THE TXWY B; TURNED R OR S ON TXWY F; CROSSED RWY 27L WITH CLRNC AND WE WERE CLRED TO TAXI ON TXWYS F; T; AND T12 TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 32L. WE STOPPED BRIEFLY ON TXWY F12 THEN WE CLRED ONTO RWY 32L TO AWAIT TKOF CLRNC. TKOFS WERE OCCURRING ON RWY 32L FROM INTXN T10 SEVERAL THOUSAND FT AHEAD OF US AND WE WAITED ABOUT 5 MINS EXPECTING TKOF CLRNC. THE TWR CTLR ASKED IF WE HAD SEEN ANY ARPT VEHICLES WHILE TAXIING OUT. WE SAID WE HAD NOT; BUT SINCE WE WERE ASKED AN UNUSUAL QUESTION WE BEGAN LOOKING AROUND THE ARPT AREA. OUT THE R COCKPIT WINDOW OFF IN THE DISTANCE HEAR THE INTXN OF TXWYS F; T; AND 512; WE COULD SEE A YELLOW TRUCK TIPPED ON ITS SIDE. IT WAS NEAR A BLAST FENCE AND SMALL BUILDING. WE TALKED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF HAVING BLOWN THE TRUCK OVER WITH JETBLAST; BUT THE TRUCK WAS RESTING ON THE WRONG SIDE FOR THAT TO BE POSSIBLE. SHORTLY AFTER WE SPOTTED THE VAN; OTHER ARPT VEHICLES APPEARED ON THE SCENE ALONG WITH FIRE TRUCKS. THE TWR ASKED US TO TAXI TO THE RWY 32L RUNUP PAD AND SHUT DOWN OUR ENGS. ON THE RUNUP PAD; CITY VEHICLES AND OUR COMPANY MAINT PEOPLE DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS DAMAGE ON THE OUTBOARD SIDE OF THE #1 ENG COWLING. THE DAMAGE I SON THE SIDE BUT NOT THE FRONT COWLING. THE DAMAGE STARTS ABOUT 4 FT BACK FROM THE INLET; IS ABOUT 6 FT LONG; 6 INCHES WIDE AND ABOUT 6 FT ABOVE THE GND. WHILE TAXIING IN THIS AREA; WE WERE MOVING SLOWLY DUE TO THE CRUSTY TXWYS. WE SAW NO VEHICLES; WE FELT OR HEARD NO IMPACT OR UNUSUAL ACFT MOVEMENT. OUR CHKLISTS HAD BEEN COMPLETED BEFORE TAXIING INTO THE AREA WHERE THE TRUCK WAS.