PARKING SPACE ALLOCATION PROB FOR BE-1900'S PARKED AT GATE WITH JET BLAST ENCOUNTER FROM A PARKING MD83 AT NEARBY GATE AT FLL.
Synopsis
PARKING SPACE ALLOCATION PROB FOR BE-1900'S PARKED AT GATE WITH JET BLAST ENCOUNTER FROM A PARKING MD83 AT NEARBY GATE AT FLL.
Narrative
APPROX 10 MINS AFTER BLOCK IN AT FLL; OPS GOT A CALL FROM A COMMUTER COMPLAINING ABOUT BUFFETING OF ONE OF THEIR BEECH 1900 AIRPLANES PARKED ON THE RAMP NEAR THEIR GATE. THE CALLER SAID THE BUFFETING WAS CAUSED BY AN MD83 AIRPLANE DEPARTING THEIR GATE. ABOUT 10 MINS LATER; AN ARPT WORKER ARRIVED IN OPS IN RESPONSE TO ANOTHER COMMUTER CALL TO HIM. HIS RPT SAID THE ACFT BUFFETING WAS CAUSED BY THE MD83 ACFT ARRIVING AT GATE. I WAS THE CAPT OF THE ARRIVING FLT. I TAXIED TO THE GATE ON THE YELLOW LINE WITH BOTH ENGS RUNNING. AFTER COMPLETING THE TURN INTO THE GATE AND ALIGNING WITH THE YELLOW PARKING LINE; I COMMANDED THE FO TO SHUT DOWN THE R ENG. I COMPLETED THE PARKING MANEUVER AT IDLE THRUST BY COASTING TO THE STOP POINT. SUBSEQUENTLY; THE COMMUTER MECH INSPECTED THEIR AIRPLANE. HE RPTED TO THE ARPT WORKER THAT THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THEIR ACFT. IT DEPARTED ON A REVENUE FLT ABOUT 10 MINS LATER. ON TAXI OUT; I NOTED SEVERAL BE-1900 ACFT PARKED NOSE-TO-NOSE; ON A N/S AXIS AT GATES; WITH THE TAIL OF THE SOUTHERNMOST ACFT VERY CLOSE TO THE RED WARNING LINE NEAR THE YELLOW TAXI LINE BTWN CONCOURSES. FACING ANY AIRPLANE'S TAIL; INSTEAD OF ITS NOSE; TOWARD KNOWN AIRFLOW DISTURBANCES FROM PASSING JET ACFT MAY NOT BE THE MOST PRUDENT PROC. PERHAPS THESE ACFT ARE NOT CONFORMING TO WHATEVER POLICY PERMITS SMALL ACFT TO BE PARKED IN SUCH CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A MANEUVER AREA FOR LARGER ACFT; ESPECIALLY WHEN A 90 DEG TURN IS REQUIRED TO PARK AT A NEARBY GATE. THE TURN REQUIRES POINTING THE TAIL OF THE LARGER ACFT DIRECTLY AT THE PARKING AREA OF THE SMALLER AIRPLANES. I BELIEVE I EXERCISED PRUDENT JUDGEMENT AND EXTRAORDINARY CARE WHILE TAXIING AND PARKING FLT ON NOV-SUN-00. NO DAMAGE OCCURRED AND NO ONE WAS INJURED. I CALLED MY CHIEF PLT BEFORE LEAVING FLL OPS. I TOLD HIM WHAT OCCURRED. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE CAPT CITED A PARKING PROB AS THE MAIN CAUSE OF THIS INCIDENT. INITIALLY; THE BE-1900 ACFT WERE NO MORE THAN TWO IN NUMBER; WITH THE NUMBERS INCREASED TO FOUR TO SIX ACFT IN THAT GATE AREA. THE BE-1900 ACFT ARE PARKED SO THAT THERE IS LESS THAN 30 FT OF SPACE BTWN THE TAIL OF THE BE-1900 AND THE WING OF THE MD83 PRIOR TO IT TURNING INTO THE GATE. HE SAID THAT THE ONLY OTHER WAY TO AVOID RECURRING PROBS SUCH AS THIS ONE WAS TO HAVE THE ACFT TOWED INTO THE GATE. THIS WOULD IMPOSE FINANCIAL RESTRAINTS UPON HIS CARRIER. CAPT IS CONCERNED THAT PAX BOARDING OR DEPLANING MAY ALSO BE AFFECTED BY JET BLAST AS COULD ANY MAINT PERSONNEL ON THE RAMP NEAR THOSE CLOSELY PARKED ACFT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.