AN A319'S L ENG COWL STRUCK A JETWAY AFTER THE MARSHALLER GAVE THE CAPT AN UNFAMILIAR STOP SIGNAL AND THE CAPT CONTINUED TAXIING.

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ARRIVED ON CHARTER WITH PAX CONNECTING HOME. DIRECTED TO JETWAY GATE BY HAND SIGNALS FROM GND MARSHALL. GND MARSHALL BROUGHT WANDS TOGETHER BUT NEVER CROSSED THEM INDICATING TO STOP. WE MOVED ABOUT 2 FT FURTHER AND DECIDED THAT NO STOP SIGN (WANDS CROSSED) WAS GOING TO BE GIVEN; SO WE STOPPED. L ENG TOP COWL CONTACTED A FLOOD LAMP ATTACHED TO THE UNDERSIDE OF JETWAY CAUSING THE FLOOD LAMP TO SCRAPE ACROSS TOP OF ENG COWL AND BREAKING LAMP LENS AND BULB. PIECES OF THE LAMP WERE INGESTED INTO THE RUNNING ENG CAUSING UNKNOWN DAMAGE. THE JETWAY WAS MANEUVERED OFF THE ENG AND AFTER MUCH DIFFICULTY (AS WE DISCOVERED LATER DUE TO FAULTY LIMIT SWITCHES; SEE BELOW) WAS FINALLY BROUGHT UP TO THE MAIN CABIN DOOR SO THAT THE PAX COULD DISEMBARK. UPON TALKING TO THE CHARTER COORDINATOR WHO WAS ON SITE AND THE GND CREW WE DISCOVERED: 1) EMPLOYEES WERE SENT TO ZZZ THE DAY BEFORE AS THERE WERE SIMILAR GND HANDLING AND JETWAY PROBS WITH THE CHARTER FLT THAT TOOK THE PAX A WK PRIOR. 2) ACR EMPLOYEE WAS OPERATING THE JETWAY AS THE LIMIT SWITCHES WERE FAULTY AND MUCH TROUBLE WAS ENCOUNTERED MOVING THE JETWAY INTO POS PRIOR TO OUR ARR. OBVIOUSLY; A HUGE CONTRIBUTING EVENT. 3) THE CHARTER GND CREW EXPLAINED THAT THEIR HAND SIGNAL 'STOP SIGN' WAS TO BRING THE WANDS TOGETHER AND NOT CROSS THEM. XING THE WANDS INDICATED 'PANIC STOP.' WE NEVER RECEIVED THEIR PANIC STOP SIGNAL EVEN THOUGH AT THE TIME THE JETWAY WAS CONTACTING THE L ENG COWL AND WE HAD CLRLY PASSED THE CHOCKS PLACED TO THE SIDE OF THE NOSEWHEEL CTRLINE AS A POINT FOR THE MARSHALLER TO STOP THE AIRPLANE.