B737 WAS HIT BY THE JETWAY AS IT WAS POSITIONING AT THE GATE.
Synopsis
B737 WAS HIT BY THE JETWAY AS IT WAS POSITIONING AT THE GATE.
Narrative
AFTER ENG SHUTDOWN; AND WHILE PERFORMING THE SHUTDOWN FLOW; I WAS CONTACTED BY A RAMPER ON THE INTERPHONE AND INFORMED THAT THE #1 ENG COWL HAD BEEN DAMAGED BY THE JETWAY. POSTFLT CHKLISTS WERE COMPLETED AND MAINT WAS CONTACTED. THE TAXI-IN HAD BEEN NORMAL AND PER COMPANY PROCS. 1 MARSHALLER AND 2 WING WALKERS WERE PRESENT AND OBVIOUSLY VERY VIGILANT. THE JETWAY APPEARED TO BE PARKED SOMEWHAT OUT OF THE NORMAL POS; SO TAXI SPD INTO SPOT WAS SLOW AND DELIBERATE. APPROX 10 FT SHORT OF ESTIMATED STOPPING POINT; I BROUGHT ACFT ALMOST TO A STOP AND TAXIED THE FINAL 6-10 FT EXTREMELY SLOWLY. MARSHALLER MOTIONED THE ACFT TO A STOP; AND CHOCKS WERE INSERTED. AFTER SECURING ENGS; I RELEASED THE PARKING BRAKE PER SOP. I WAS NOTIFIED BY SOMEONE ON THE RAMP THAT THE DAMAGE HAD BEEN DETECTED APPROX 3-5 MI AFTER ENG SHUTDOWN. DURING THAT PERIOD; I OBSERVED THE JETWAY OPERATOR HAVE SOME DIFFICULTY POSITIONING THE JETWAY ON THE ACFT. WHILE NO ONE ACTUALLY WITNESSED THE CONTACT; IT IS BELIEVED TO HAVE OCCURRED AFTER THE ACFT WAS CHOCKED AND WHILE THE JETWAY WAS BEING POSITIONED. I BELIEVE THAT WHILE THE JETWAY WAS PREPOSITIONED SOMEWHAT ABNORMALLY; ALL PROCS AND PRECAUTIONS WERE FOLLOWED; AND THIS ERROR CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO UNFAMILIARITY WITH A NEW JETWAY AND ITS INITIAL CLOSE PROX TO THE ACFT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.