Posted: 12/27/2007 6:31:12 AM EDT
Gulfstream cuts turn to short and clips Falcon 10 on the ramp. Winglet of GIII  Top View  Bottom view of Falcon L/H Hor. Stab:  Different View:  Different View:  Top View:  Supposedly the GIII had a wing walker, one of the lineguys here. The kid claims he saw it wasn't going to fit, and signaled the lineguy in front to stop the plane. If the guy in front didn't see the signals from the wingwalker or if the pilot didn't see either one is still not determined. They Falcon guys were in the cockpit when it happened, they said they thought it was just jetblast. The Gulfstream guys never felt a thing... As usual, I was the only one with a camera around, so I was asked to snap some pics. Handed out some business cards and took some pics... That GIII wing flexes quite a bit when you walk towards the tip...  |
| Funny stuff. happens all the time at ATL with the airlines. usually not with pilots involved, but the rampers driving carts and what not into them. I can't tell you how many dents and dings they are on the engines by the cargo door. Some people just don't pay attention and have no respect or sense of responsibility. |
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This just in: The GIII guys are blaming the whole thing on the Jet Center. Looks like they'll pay the bill... Estimated at $10K so far. But then again, we just measured, that the top of the winglet of the GIII is 17" higher than the bottom of the Falcon's tail at that point. I can see some NDT-ing in the near future... |
That is the responsibility of both the pilots and the wing walkers. In my opinion it is more of a 70-30 responsibility on the wing walkers. I know the G550 has cameras that you can view several parts of the airplane from the cockpit. I don't know if the GIII has them or not. As far as I can remember, I don't think you can see the wings from the cockpit...correct me if I am wrong here on this though. I know in a challenger 604 you can just barely see the tips of the wings. This is the problem the pilots run into. So that is why the wing walkers have such a big responsibility but they don't realize it. I know in the airlines when we get pushed back, we can't see a thing and rely completely on our wing walkers. Part of our SOP is to have at least 1 on each wing plus the tug driver. if they hit something, it goes on them. I think the FBO should be taking the bill on this, or at least 90 percent of it. The crews and passengers took enough of a bill by not getting where they were going or having to get another plane plus hotels if they stayed the night or airline tickets to get home etc. |
The GIII has those little mirrors in the pilot and copilot's windows, I believe. I agree on the fact that it's pretty much up to the FBO. They took responsibility by guiding him in. On the other hand, the guy in the left seat has the overall responsibility over the aircraft. And to make matters worse, it's the lineguys' word against the crew/passenger's. Tough call. Glad we're not involved. As long as we get paid, I'm cool with it. 
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Tell me about it. I get the fun of mapping all that damage out.  |
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That's why FBOs have insurance. Line guys, even the ones that try hard, can still do a bit of damage. Hell I did it for a summer and managed to do close to $1K on one plane alone. I was pulling a 172 through grass, and the nose gear (with farring?) slipped off the tug and rammed into the tow bar. Yeah, hold the guy in the front seat responsible when he/she has no way to see what they're doing. I highly doubt that would happen in this case. |
Yep, our FBO managed to put the horizontal stab of our challenger 600 into the hangar wall with two wing walkers. It was a bit more than 1K in damage Given today's prices on old non-RVSM jets, that may total the Falcon 10 |
True. On the other hand, if I'm taxiing anything around, 150 or Hawker, and I don't feel comfortable going into a hole like that, I won't. And call me a snob, but I'll put my judgment over that of the $8 an hour kid's in this case. If I don't think it'll fit, I'm not trying. The plane's my responsibility in this case. The Jet Center has already stated that they will pay the tab. Work started on the Falcon this afternoon. The Gulfstream is going to be interesting though....their D.O.M. is trying to get us to sign off a ferry permit, going by his word, that Gulfstream told him it was OK to ferry the plane as is, but as soon as it gets to his facility it needs extensive NDT and inspections... When asked to forward that email/paperwork to us, he told us he had no time for that kind of bullshit, and if we won't sign he'll get the FSDO to come down tomorrow and sign.... 
$10K? Nah...Don't even know if it's RVSM. Haven't looked inside. |
I agree with you 100% there as well. If you don't think it'll fit, its probably in your best interest not to try. Especially when you're going to an unfamiliar field that doesn't have ramp markings with distances that are specific for your type. You get damage and you're not going anywhere for some time. That could make your boss angry with you. |
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Some friends of mine ran the T-tail of a C-5 into the vertical tail of a 747 once... The marshallers (aka witnesses) had parked the 747 about 20' from the proper position. When the C-5 turned the T-tail put a very large gouge in the tail of the 747. The leading edge of the C-5 tail was all torn up be there was a waiver to fly it until it went to depot... I hated flying that thing... Spooky |