Narrative:

The captain was the flying pilot and I was the pilot not flying as we arrived at our scheduled time. This is an uncontrolled airport and therefore very challenging with regards to traffic avoidance. The weather was VMC and there were a couple of airplanes in the pattern. After I obtained the current weather; I then called our operations to tell them we were in-range. At this point we were about 15 minutes away. Obtaining the weather and calling in-range is always only about 15 minutes out due to the terrain and not being able to have radio contact until then. I then was making traffic advisory calls on CTAF 122.7 on comm 2 while the captain was in contact with center; then approach control on comm 1. The arrival was uneventful; just a few vectors from approach control for traffic. We then called; 'airport in sight' and shortly after canceled IFR with approach. I then put CTAF on comm 1 where we were both listening. As we turned final to runway 33; there was a grumman tiger that originally stated they would 'extend downwind' for the air carrier aircraft. As I made my advisory of us on final; the other aircraft stated they were on final also. I then asked if they were behind us because we were on a 3-mile final. He said; 'negative' he was over the numbers. The captain and I were searching for the grumman and never saw it. He then called 'clear of the active.' we were on about a 1-mile final and continued to landing. Shortly after touchdown the captain and I saw a large piece of construction equipment on the left side of the runway. It was only 5-10 ft away from the edge. The captain had landed on the centerline but then made a slight steering maneuver to the right of centerline to give more room around the equipment. At this point we were going above 100 KTS. The rest of the roll-out was uneventful and we taxied to the terminal ramp without incident. Upon the first inquiry as to why the equipment was so close; the response was that the operator was listening for flight XX6 and heard YY6 so he didn't move. I don't understand why the callsign would matter in moving the equipment away from the runway. The captain and I never saw the equipment until touchdown partly due to our search for other aircraft and partly due to the fact the equipment was brown in color; operating on brown dirt; therefore blending in. After parking at the terminal the captain and I were reviewing what just happened and did some quick math about how close we really were to impacting the equipment. The runway is only 100 ft wide; our wing span is 107 ft 10 inches. Therefore; on the centerline our wings hang over by about 5 ft either side. From our perspective; the equipment was only 5-10 ft off the runway leaving us very little clearance. My first suggestion is to get a control tower at this airport. This airport is always a bigger challenge than most of our destinations due to the many training aircraft in the area. There are fixed wing as well as helicopters practicing most of the time we are arriving and departing. There is always an increased chance of an RA when operating in and out of the airport. A control tower would help alleviate this problem. In regards to the equipment; a tower would also have eliminated this incident. If a tower is not an option then further training for the construction workers is a must. They informed us as we were leaving that they had a 250 ft safety zone from the runway and they are to be beyond that distance when we are taking off or landing. I guess the construction worker on 10/07 felt that 5-10 ft was safe enough.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A MD80 landed at a CTAF airport and nearly hit a piece of construction equipment 5-10 FT off the runway's edge.

Narrative: The Captain was the flying pilot and I was the pilot not flying as we arrived at our scheduled time. This is an uncontrolled airport and therefore very challenging with regards to traffic avoidance. The weather was VMC and there were a couple of airplanes in the pattern. After I obtained the current weather; I then called our Operations to tell them we were in-range. At this point we were about 15 minutes away. Obtaining the weather and calling in-range is always only about 15 minutes out due to the terrain and not being able to have radio contact until then. I then was making traffic advisory calls on CTAF 122.7 on Comm 2 while the Captain was in contact with Center; then Approach Control on Comm 1. The arrival was uneventful; just a few vectors from Approach Control for traffic. We then called; 'Airport in sight' and shortly after canceled IFR with Approach. I then put CTAF on Comm 1 where we were both listening. As we turned final to Runway 33; there was a Grumman Tiger that originally stated they would 'extend downwind' for the air carrier aircraft. As I made my advisory of us on final; the other aircraft stated they were on final also. I then asked if they were behind us because we were on a 3-mile final. He said; 'Negative' he was over the numbers. The Captain and I were searching for the Grumman and never saw it. He then called 'clear of the active.' We were on about a 1-mile final and continued to landing. Shortly after touchdown the Captain and I saw a large piece of construction equipment on the left side of the runway. It was only 5-10 FT away from the edge. The Captain had landed on the centerline but then made a slight steering maneuver to the right of centerline to give more room around the equipment. At this point we were going above 100 KTS. The rest of the roll-out was uneventful and we taxied to the terminal ramp without incident. Upon the first inquiry as to why the equipment was so close; the response was that the operator was listening for flight XX6 and heard YY6 so he didn't move. I don't understand why the callsign would matter in moving the equipment away from the runway. The Captain and I never saw the equipment until touchdown partly due to our search for other aircraft and partly due to the fact the equipment was brown in color; operating on brown dirt; therefore blending in. After parking at the terminal the Captain and I were reviewing what just happened and did some quick math about how close we really were to impacting the equipment. The runway is only 100 FT wide; our wing span is 107 FT 10 inches. Therefore; on the centerline our wings hang over by about 5 FT either side. From our perspective; the equipment was only 5-10 FT off the runway leaving us very little clearance. My first suggestion is to get a control tower at this airport. This airport is always a bigger challenge than most of our destinations due to the many training aircraft in the area. There are fixed wing as well as helicopters practicing most of the time we are arriving and departing. There is always an increased chance of an RA when operating in and out of the airport. A control tower would help alleviate this problem. In regards to the equipment; a tower would also have eliminated this incident. If a tower is not an option then further training for the construction workers is a must. They informed us as we were leaving that they had a 250 FT safety zone from the runway and they are to be beyond that distance when we are taking off or landing. I guess the construction worker on 10/07 felt that 5-10 FT was safe enough.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.