Ground crew flight crew coordination suffers from lack of lighted wands for ramp operation aircraft ...

Attributes
ACN	303781
Time
Date	199505
Day	Sat
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : iah
State Reference	TX
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B727-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : holding ground : parked ground other : taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Qualification	pilot : atp
ASRS Report	303781
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Qualification	pilot : atp
Events
Anomaly	conflict : ground less severe non adherence other other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa other other : unspecified
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Consequence	Other
Supplementary
Air Traffic Incident	other

Narrative:

In sum: came into iah for parking at gate, found ground crew ready in place, but no lighted wands for the wing walkers. Waited 12 mins for them to scramble for them, they found wands but not lighted, used aircraft lights to light area so they would be visible. Spoke with crew chief he said that the station does not have any wands nor does it supply any batteries for them, hence he had no equipment to work with. This is not an isolated case, many stations are for some reason making the equipment unavailable for ground crews to use, despite the ground crews input not to do so. This delay was not the ground crews fault. Radio calls were made to the station operations to explain the problem, the agent said they do not need wands and he has never seen them used. This was after we got to the gate, they never answered the radio despite many calls. The area around is very dark at night, these people need the correct equipment to properly do their job and not inconvenience passenger.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: GND CREW FLC COORD SUFFERS FROM LACK OF LIGHTED WANDS FOR RAMP OP ACFT PARKING PROC IN A NIGHT OP.

Narrative: IN SUM: CAME INTO IAH FOR PARKING AT GATE, FOUND GND CREW READY IN PLACE, BUT NO LIGHTED WANDS FOR THE WING WALKERS. WAITED 12 MINS FOR THEM TO SCRAMBLE FOR THEM, THEY FOUND WANDS BUT NOT LIGHTED, USED ACFT LIGHTS TO LIGHT AREA SO THEY WOULD BE VISIBLE. SPOKE WITH CREW CHIEF HE SAID THAT THE STATION DOES NOT HAVE ANY WANDS NOR DOES IT SUPPLY ANY BATTERIES FOR THEM, HENCE HE HAD NO EQUIP TO WORK WITH. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED CASE, MANY STATIONS ARE FOR SOME REASON MAKING THE EQUIP UNAVAILABLE FOR GND CREWS TO USE, DESPITE THE GND CREWS INPUT NOT TO DO SO. THIS DELAY WAS NOT THE GND CREWS FAULT. RADIO CALLS WERE MADE TO THE STATION OPS TO EXPLAIN THE PROB, THE AGENT SAID THEY DO NOT NEED WANDS AND HE HAS NEVER SEEN THEM USED. THIS WAS AFTER WE GOT TO THE GATE, THEY NEVER ANSWERED THE RADIO DESPITE MANY CALLS. THE AREA AROUND IS VERY DARK AT NIGHT, THESE PEOPLE NEED THE CORRECT EQUIP TO PROPERLY DO THEIR JOB AND NOT INCONVENIENCE PAX.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Ground crew flight crew coordination suffers from lack of lighted wands for ramp operation aircraft parking procedure in a night operation.