A crj-700 being marshaled into a gate at cvg struck a baggage cart with his left wing slat.

Attributes
ACN	709725
Time
Date	200609
Local Time Of Day	1801 To 2400
Place
Locale Reference	airport : cvg.airport
State Reference	KY
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	Regional Jet 700 ER&LR
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : captain oversight : pic
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 100 flight time total : 14050 flight time type : 4500
ASRS Report	709725
Person 2
Affiliation	company : air carrier
Function	flight crew : first officer
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 4700 flight time type : 3500
ASRS Report	709724
Events
Anomaly	ground encounters : vehicle non adherence : company policies
Independent Detector	other flight crewa other flight crewb other other : 3
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Company
Primary Problem	Company

Narrative:

While being marshaled into gate at cvg; left outboard slat made contact with a baggage cart located near left wingtip. Ramp area was congested at time with all gates occupied at our concourse. Had to wait several mins for marshaller and wing walkers. Marshaller with lighted wands monitored and marshaled aircraft into gate with standard signals. During final closure with approximately 3 ft to go with baggage cart; marshaller then signaled aircraft to stop. Slight 'bump' was felt by pilots. There were no abnormal instructions or actions from marshaller prior to impact. Everything seemed routine. Note: marshaller stopped the CRJ700 aircraft on the crj 100/200 spot at gate. Passenger showed no concern according to the flight attendant. Ramp workers appeared to be extremely busy and overloaded with tasks to perform. Aircraft had to wait for 10 mins for new gate assignment from prior to event. Workload of ground crew most likely contributed to loss of accurate situational awareness of exact position of the aircraft and baggage cart.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A CRJ-700 BEING MARSHALED INTO A GATE AT CVG STRUCK A BAGGAGE CART WITH HIS L WING SLAT.

Narrative: WHILE BEING MARSHALED INTO GATE AT CVG; L OUTBOARD SLAT MADE CONTACT WITH A BAGGAGE CART LOCATED NEAR L WINGTIP. RAMP AREA WAS CONGESTED AT TIME WITH ALL GATES OCCUPIED AT OUR CONCOURSE. HAD TO WAIT SEVERAL MINS FOR MARSHALLER AND WING WALKERS. MARSHALLER WITH LIGHTED WANDS MONITORED AND MARSHALED ACFT INTO GATE WITH STANDARD SIGNALS. DURING FINAL CLOSURE WITH APPROX 3 FT TO GO WITH BAGGAGE CART; MARSHALLER THEN SIGNALED ACFT TO STOP. SLIGHT 'BUMP' WAS FELT BY PLTS. THERE WERE NO ABNORMAL INSTRUCTIONS OR ACTIONS FROM MARSHALLER PRIOR TO IMPACT. EVERYTHING SEEMED ROUTINE. NOTE: MARSHALLER STOPPED THE CRJ700 ACFT ON THE CRJ 100/200 SPOT AT GATE. PAX SHOWED NO CONCERN ACCORDING TO THE FLT ATTENDANT. RAMP WORKERS APPEARED TO BE EXTREMELY BUSY AND OVERLOADED WITH TASKS TO PERFORM. ACFT HAD TO WAIT FOR 10 MINS FOR NEW GATE ASSIGNMENT FROM PRIOR TO EVENT. WORKLOAD OF GND CREW MOST LIKELY CONTRIBUTED TO LOSS OF ACCURATE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF EXACT POS OF THE ACFT AND BAGGAGE CART.

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.