B737 CAPTAIN REPORTS MULTIPLE INCIDENTS OF OTHER FLIGHTS EXCEEDING SAFE OPERATING SPEEDS AND SEPARATION WITH OTHER AIRCRAFT ON CONGESTED AND/OR WET/ICY RAMPS.
Synopsis
B737 CAPTAIN REPORTS MULTIPLE INCIDENTS OF OTHER FLIGHTS EXCEEDING SAFE OPERATING SPEEDS AND SEPARATION WITH OTHER AIRCRAFT ON CONGESTED AND/OR WET/ICY RAMPS.
Narrative
WE WERE 4 MINS LATE PUSHING OFF OUR GATE DUE TO A LATE INBOUND FLT. I DID MY BEST TO PUSH ASAP BUT I WAS NOT GOING TO RUSH OUR PREFLT AND DEP. WHILE WE WERE COMPLETING OUR PREFLT DUTIES; I HEARD SEVERAL CONVERSATIONS WITH INBOUND FLT Y AND OPS AND IT WAS MORE THAN OBVIOUS FROM FLT Y'S CONVERSATION THEY WERE NOT HAPPY WAITING FOR OUR GATE AND HAVING NOWHERE TO PARK. AS WE PUSHED; I HEARD THEM ONCE MORE ON THE RADIO; THIS TIME WITH GND; IN A HURRY TO PARK THEIR JET. WHEN THE PUSHBACK OF OUR FLT WAS COMPLETE; I SET THE BRAKES AND BEFORE I REALIZED IT; OUR GND CREW HAD ALREADY LEFT WITHOUT ANY TYPE OF WAVE-OFF. SECONDS LATER; I REALIZED WHY OUR GND CREW HAD LEFT SO SUDDENLY AS I LOOKED UP IN SHOCK AND DISBELIEF TO FIND FLT Y TAXIING AT A MINIMUM OF 15 KTS GND SPD AS THEY PASSED UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE BTWN OUR PLANE AND THE TERMINAL BUILDING. BOTH ME AND MY FO THOUGHT THEIR TAXI SPD WAS MORE THAN EXCESSIVE; ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE PROX TO OTHER PLANES AND THE TERMINAL BUILDING. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME I'VE OBSERVED SUCH OPS IN ZZZ. APPROX 6 WKS AGO; I HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE OCCUR WITH AN INBOUND FLT IN A HURRY TO PARK ON THEIR GATE. ON THE NIGHT OF THIS INCIDENT; MOST TFC WAS LNDG RWY 14 DUE TO STRONG GUSTY WINDS OUT OF THE SE AT CLOSE TO 30 KTS. WE LANDED RWY 14 AND WERE SURPRISED TO HEAR A FLY Y LNDG RWY 7R. WE TAXIED IN TO THE RAMP AREA FOR OUR ASSIGNED GATE AND INDEED THE RAMP WAS ICY AS ATIS WAS RPTING. DUE TO THE ICY RAMPS; I DECIDED TO LEAVE BOTH ENGS RUNNING UNTIL WE WERE PARKED ON THE GATE. AS WE GOT INTO THE VICINITY OF GATE; WE WERE FORCED TO WAIT FOR AN OUTBOUND FLT TO DEICE. WHILE WAITING; THERE WAS A CONVERSATION BTWN FLT Y AND OPS WHICH INDICATED TO US THEY WERE IMPATIENT TO PARK ON THEIR GATE; WHICH WAS THE CLOSEST COMBINATION GATE. AFTER THE ACFT IN FRONT OF US WAS DONE WITH THEIR DEICING; I CONTINUED TO TAXI TO GATE AS INSTRUCTED BY GND. APCHING; I LOOKED UP AND FLT Y CUT IN FRONT OF US AT A VERY FAST TAXI SPD AND BLOCKED OUR ACCESS TO GATE. I WAITED FOR THEM TO PARK ONLY TO FIND PAX EXITING THE L2 EXIT OF FLT Y VERY CLOSE TO MY FLT AS BOTH ENGS WERE STILL RUNNING. THIS 'HURRY; HURRY' MENTALITY HAS GOT TO STOP BEFORE THERE'S AN ACCIDENT ON THE RAMP. IN BOTH CASES MENTIONED ABOVE; IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NO MORE THAN 1-2 MINS FOR THE OTHER ACFT TO WAIT; BUT IN THEIR IMPATIENCE THEY DECIDED TO TAXI AT UNSAFE SPDS UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE TO OUR PLANE PUTTING BOTH PLANES; CREWS AND PAX AT RISK OF A COLLISION OR GND INCIDENT. INBOUND FLT TAXIED UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE BTWN OUR PUSHBACK AND TERMINAL BUILDING AT AN UNSAFE TAXI SPD.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.