2010-02 · NASA ASRS report 873451
A Marshaller attempted to have a CRJ crew continue taxiing the aircraft further into the ramp area even after the crew stopped short of the Jetway because the right wing struck a fueling cart.
While being marshaled into gate; noted an additional fuel cart on right side of aircraft; but due to obscured ramp markings from compacted patchy snow; unable to determine if it was out of place. There were 2 Marshallers; one on nose and one on left wing. I asked First Officer to let me know if cart looked close as we approached. Approximately 10 feet from gate; First Officer said stop; and I stopped the aircraft immediately. The Marshaller continued to attempt to marshal us forward; but we remained stationary. We indicated to the Marshaller to check clearance on right side of aircraft so he walked that way and did not return. After more than a minute without further guidance; opened main cabin door and First Officer checked our status. He returned with the news we had hit a fuel cart on the leading edge of the right wing. After we had stopped of our own accord; the Marshaller still believed we should pull forward; even though the fuel cart had been hit. Clearly this is an issue of either his lack of training; lack of understanding of his job duties; or just not paying attention. If he felt uneasy about the location of the fuel cart he should have had it moved or had a third Marshaller verify our clearance; but for some reason did not. Perhaps not parking random pieces of equipment in gate areas for the convenience of the ramp personnel should be made a priority.
We were taxiing slowly into the gate and we noticed the mobile fuel pump situated rather close to where we thought we would stop. However; it really didn't look any different than the proximity of where the GPUs are parked; in an airport such as this; where the aircraft are closely parked next to each other. As we proceed in following the centerline and Marshaller; we were unsure just how far the jetway was going to telescope out to meet us; or exactly where the stop line was situated. The crazy thing about this incident is that we were:1) Under Marshaller control 2) We were on centerline 3) We were taxiing incredibly slow (like a crawl) 4) My eyes were glued to our wing on the taxi in yet this incident still happened I have to wonder if cost-cutting played a part here; if we have had a right-side wing walker I doubt this would have happened. Perhaps the ramp needs to do a lateral sweep of the ramp while the flight crew waits short of the gate to confirm the area is clear. Perhaps; more clearly marked boxes for the fuel pumps need to be painted on the ramp? I think as a flight crew that was not rushing and acting with caution there wasn't a whole lot more we could do. It is difficult to judge distance when peering back at the wing from the First Officer window. Overall; I think Ramp Agents have to somehow be instilled with the harsh reminder that marshalling a plane is not a cursory procedure. Far too often we observe wingwalkers that are staring at the ground during pushback or taxi-in. Wingwalkers with iPhone ear buds in; things of that nature. Simple mistakes can cost us big. Everyone has to be on their best game here. As pilots we are not perfect; but yet we do an amazingly good job of maintaining adherence to our SOPS; however we are at times only as good as the next link in the chain.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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