E145 expresses concern about his air carrier's policy of only starting the APU after block arrival; ...

Attributes
ACN	687379
Time
Date	200602
Place
Locale Reference	airport : mco.airport
State Reference	FL
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Weather Elements	Rain
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	EMB ERJ 145 ER&LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 230 flight time type : 2220
ASRS Report	687379
Events
Anomaly	non adherence : company policies
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Company Aircraft
Primary Problem	Company

Narrative:

Upon parking at the gate and prior to shutting down the engines; the baggage door was opened by the ground crew. The beacon was on at this time. Shortly after the baggage door was opened; the APU generator came on line and we were able to shut down the engines. I feel that our current policy that mandates all APU starts be performed at the gate with the engines running is not consistent with our mission of safe aircraft operations. Ground crews routinely disregard the beacon and begin servicing the lavatory; attempt to fuel the aircraft; and access the cargo compartment while the engines are running and the beacon is on. This issue definitely deserves attention as evidenced by the fatal accident at air carrier X in which a mechanic was sucked into an operating engine. Granted; a B737 wing-mounted engine during a maintenance run and our tail-mounted engine at idle are two completely different animals; but it is only a matter of time before we suck something into the engine under our current policy.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: E145 EXPRESSES CONCERN ABOUT HIS ACR'S POLICY OF ONLY STARTING THE APU AFTER BLOCK ARR; THUS ALLOWING ENGS TO CONTINUE TO RUN UNTIL THE APU CAN BE BROUGHT ON-LINE. MEANWHILE; RAMP PERSONNEL ARE PERFORMING THEIR TASKS WITH GREATLY INCREASED EXPOSURE TO PWRPLANT GENERATED RISKS.

Narrative: UPON PARKING AT THE GATE AND PRIOR TO SHUTTING DOWN THE ENGS; THE BAGGAGE DOOR WAS OPENED BY THE GND CREW. THE BEACON WAS ON AT THIS TIME. SHORTLY AFTER THE BAGGAGE DOOR WAS OPENED; THE APU GENERATOR CAME ON LINE AND WE WERE ABLE TO SHUT DOWN THE ENGS. I FEEL THAT OUR CURRENT POLICY THAT MANDATES ALL APU STARTS BE PERFORMED AT THE GATE WITH THE ENGS RUNNING IS NOT CONSISTENT WITH OUR MISSION OF SAFE ACFT OPS. GND CREWS ROUTINELY DISREGARD THE BEACON AND BEGIN SVCING THE LAVATORY; ATTEMPT TO FUEL THE ACFT; AND ACCESS THE CARGO COMPARTMENT WHILE THE ENGS ARE RUNNING AND THE BEACON IS ON. THIS ISSUE DEFINITELY DESERVES ATTN AS EVIDENCED BY THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT ACR X IN WHICH A MECH WAS SUCKED INTO AN OPERATING ENG. GRANTED; A B737 WING-MOUNTED ENG DURING A MAINT RUN AND OUR TAIL-MOUNTED ENG AT IDLE ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ANIMALS; BUT IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE WE SUCK SOMETHING INTO THE ENG UNDER OUR CURRENT POLICY.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of January 2009 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.

E145 expresses concern about his air carrier's policy of only starting the APU after block arrival; thus allowing engines to continue to run until the APU can be brought on-line. Meanwhile; ramp personnel are performing their tasks with greatly increased exposure to pwrplant generated risks.