A TAXIING B737-300 IS NEARLY HIT BY A RAPIDLY TAXIING UNLIT B727 DURING A MAINT TAXI OP AT THE APCH END OF RWY 8R AT ATL; GA.

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A NIGHT WITH GOOD VISUAL CONDITIONS; A COMPANY B727 TAXIED BY MAINT PERSONNEL CROSSED IN FRONT OF OUR B737 AT HIGH SPD JUST AS WE WERE ABOUT TO MAKE A 90 DEG TURN TO APCH THE HOLD SHORT LINE FOR RWY 8R; THE DEP RWY. CLRNC BTWN THE B727'S R WINGTIP AND THE NOSE OF OUR ACFT WAS LESS THAN 10 FT. SEQUENCE OF EVENTS: IT WAS NOT A BUSY TIME AT THE ARPT. ATL GND CTL ISSUED OUR TKOF SEQUENCE AND SWITCHED US TO TWR FREQ. LATER; UNBEKNOWNST TO US; GND CTL GAVE THE B727 TAXI CLRNC TO HOLD SHORT OF RWY 8R AND EXPECTED THE B727 TO FOLLOW US; BUT DID NOT ISSUE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS TO DO SO. THE SIGHT OF THE B727 TAXIING ACROSS OUR PATH STARTLED BOTH THE FO AND MYSELF; AND I BROUGHT THE ACFT TO A STOP; UNSURE AS TO WHETHER THE B727'S WING WOULD CLR OUR NOSE. TWR GAVE OUR ACFT CLRNC TO TAXI INTO POS AND HOLD; UNAWARE OF THE LOCATION OF THE B727. WE ADVISED TWR THAT WE HAD JUST BEEN CUT OFF BY THE B727; WHO WAS NOT ON TWR FREQ. POSSIBLE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS: 1) ACFT TAXIED BY MAINT PERSONNEL SHOULD BE MADE AS VISIBLE AS POSSIBLE AT NIGHT. NEITHER THE TAXI LIGHT NOR THE POS LIGHTS OF THE B727 WERE ILLUMINATED. 2) ALL ACFT APCHING OR XING AN ACTIVE RWY SHOULD BE ON TWR FREQ. IT IS THE PRACTICE IN ATL FOR ACFT TAXIED BY MAINT TO REMAIN ON GND CTL FREQ WHILE XING RWYS. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO WAY TO COMMUNICATE DIRECTLY WITH THE B727; IF A COLLISION HAD BEEN IMMINENT. 3) IT IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME WHETHER THE R SEAT OF THE B727 WAS OCCUPIED DURING TAXI. IF IT WAS NOT; THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO WAY THE MECH IN THE L SEAT COULD HAVE SEEN HOW CLOSE HE CAME TO STRIKING OUR ACFT.