I am a ground vehicle worker and I made a big mistake

I

ignoramus999

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ignoramus999
Hello pilots. This is specifically relevant to cargo pilots, but passenger pilots can probably help too.

I recently started working at a cargo hub at a large airport, unloading freight from several planes and then loading a few planes and heading home. Just this week I started driving a ground vehicle, pulling freight. I was making a pull to the drop off point tonight when I came to a big line where one of our roads crosses an active taxiway, the big kind with the black and white dashed lines. There was an unusual amount of congestion, but eventually the line started moving forward and I came to the front of the line. Now, I had been taught to not pull out from the stop sign onto the crossing while other vehicles are approaching towards me, because they may need to make a left turn and the priority is for them to clear the taxiway before new vehicles go on. As a consequence I focused my attention on the oncoming lanes of ground traffic crossing, and when it finally cleared I happily hit the gas, glad to finally be on the move so I could make my pull on time.

I made it perhaps 20 yards or so (my memory is foggy) onto the taxiway when, by the grace of God and all things holy, I became aware of the MD-11 that was taxiing toward me (in hindsight it should have been obvious that the oncoming traffic had only cleared because of this very plane). I was very fortunate to have come to my senses when I did, though the pilot had also seen me (he was far off enough to still have a viewing angle from the cockpit) and came to a stop shortly after I did. I was at least slightly beyond the plane’s wingspan, so I think I might have been safe if I had stayed where I was, but I was terrified (both for my life and because I though the airport police would descend upon me at any moment), so once I had unfrozen from my shock I whipped my freight around back where I had come from and drove off.

I know I should just be grateful to be ok, but I am worried about the FAA fines I have heard about, since this was definitely considered a “surface violation” or some form of incursion as I crossed onto the movement area when a plane was close. No one from the safety office or the airport or my company approached me last night, though it’s entirely plausible that they were just too busy to pull the security camera footage (I’ve heard there are cameras on lots of the light poles) and find out my vehicle number. Is it likely that the pilot reported this incident to the tower, or am I overthinking its significance?

Lessons learned from this (if I still have the job in a week):
1. I’m not going to wear my earplugs when driving around the ramp anymore. A big part of why I didn’t notice the plane coming was that I couldn’t hear it. Obviously I should look everytime, but ears make for a good back up.
2. Don’t worry about the ground traffic at these crossings, focus on the taxiway.
3. Be hypervigilant ant the taxiways and the taxi lanes. We bang up our ground vehicles and equipment and break all kinds of rules out there but the stakes are so much higher at the taxiway and I understand that now.
 
Sounds like you made a mistake and learned from it. The person here who hasn't made a mistake gets to throw the first stone! I'm sure you won't hear from the FAA and if you do, it'll be them wanting to know that you learned from it. Nobody was hurt, no property was hurt, etc. Breathe!
 
Did you self report to your safety department? I’d talk to a union rep real quick and ask a scenario question about how that all pans out myself. A what if type thing.

Many times if you self report, it is handled far better than just dropping the hammer if THEY had to go get the answers. But if the hammer would drop regardless, ypu have an ethical choice to make.
 
Fill out a nasa report. Lol j/k
 
Good lesson learned!

I sometimes hear it reported on frequency, but I think most of us are so used to being cut off by vehicular traffic that we don’t think much of it anymore. At some of our hubs, the ramp traffic is so thick and chaotic I feel like I’m in a ****ing Mad Max film. :)
 
Hmmm, crossing an active taxiway with out talking to ground. This doesn't sound right to me.
 
Unit74, we don’t have a union, but I think I’ll take the approach of throwing out a hypothetical since I’m a newbie. “Say, Nick, have you ever heard of anybody pulling out onto a taxiway in front of a plane? Does safety come down hard on that stuff or do they usually get away with it? Etc” And depending on his response decide whether or not to pre-emptively report.

Edit:
Thanks for the other comments and suggestions, including the NASA form, though as that other guy said I’m not sure if that’s for us our not. I’ll surreptitiously investigate tomorrow and hopefully nothing else comes of this.
 
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To the OP:

Your company should have a safety program in place. Contact the safety manager and file a report.

If you wait around to see if the FAA will investigate, and if they do, without a filed safety report it won’t look good.

There’s a reason companies such as the one you work for have a safety program (and probably an SMS program). Use it.
 
PaulS said:
Hmmm, crossing an active taxiway with out talking to ground. This doesn't sound right to me.
Click to expand...

Think about what a nightmare it would be if every vehicle had to talk to ground to cross a taxiway; and that's for both parties.

Sounds like the OP did what he was supposed to do after he realized his mistake. Nothing got bent and it probably happens all the time at busy airports. Learn from it and move on.
 
Hard to tell from your post if your training was adequate or not, or if the fault was entirely yours. By the way you described the situation and what you were taught, it seems as if you do have at least a rudimentary knowledge of airport ground operations. You did mention that you started driving on field just this week. How many times did you drive with an instructor before going out on your own? How many times had you driven alone prior to the occurrence? I assume you took the airport provided training and passed. Is this correct?

Driving on large busy airports around large aircraft isn’t particularly difficult but it can be quite unnerving, especially for the novice. The important thing is that just as with driving your car on the street, you need to look all ways before crossing an intersection. And always know who has the right of way.

Don’t stop wearing earplugs. Airport noise is destructive to hearing. Being safe while driving on field is far more about keeping your eyes open than hearing things. And even with the plugs in, you’ll still hear enough.

As to what to do now, I’d reflect on one of the last things that you wrote.

ignoramus999 said:
....
We bang up our ground vehicles and equipment and break all kinds of rules out there but the stakes are so much higher at the taxiway and I understand that now.
Click to expand...

It sounds like your company has a systemic safety/cultural issue that needs to be corrected. No one should be breaking any rules let alone “all kinds of rules”. Try to change that culture or find another job.
 
ignoramus999 said:
Hello pilots. This is specifically relevant to cargo pilots, but passenger pilots can probably help too.

I recently started working at a cargo hub at a large airport, unloading freight from several planes and then loading a few planes and heading home. Just this week I started driving a ground vehicle, pulling freight. I was making a pull to the drop off point tonight when I came to a big line where one of our roads crosses an active taxiway, the big kind with the black and white dashed lines. There was an unusual amount of congestion, but eventually the line started moving forward and I came to the front of the line. Now, I had been taught to not pull out from the stop sign onto the crossing while other vehicles are approaching towards me, because they may need to make a left turn and the priority is for them to clear the taxiway before new vehicles go on. As a consequence I focused my attention on the oncoming lanes of ground traffic crossing, and when it finally cleared I happily hit the gas, glad to finally be on the move so I could make my pull on time.

I made it perhaps 20 yards or so (my memory is foggy) onto the taxiway when, by the grace of God and all things holy, I became aware of the MD-11 that was taxiing toward me (in hindsight it should have been obvious that the oncoming traffic had only cleared because of this very plane). I was very fortunate to have come to my senses when I did, though the pilot had also seen me (he was far off enough to still have a viewing angle from the cockpit) and came to a stop shortly after I did. I was at least slightly beyond the plane’s wingspan, so I think I might have been safe if I had stayed where I was, but I was terrified (both for my life and because I though the airport police would descend upon me at any moment), so once I had unfrozen from my shock I whipped my freight around back where I had come from and drove off.

I know I should just be grateful to be ok, but I am worried about the FAA fines I have heard about, since this was definitely considered a “surface violation” or some form of incursion as I crossed onto the movement area when a plane was close. No one from the safety office or the airport or my company approached me last night, though it’s entirely plausible that they were just too busy to pull the security camera footage (I’ve heard there are cameras on lots of the light poles) and find out my vehicle number. Is it likely that the pilot reported this incident to the tower, or am I overthinking its significance?

Lessons learned from this (if I still have the job in a week):
1. I’m not going to wear my earplugs when driving around the ramp anymore. A big part of why I didn’t notice the plane coming was that I couldn’t hear it. Obviously I should look everytime, but ears make for a good back up.
2. Don’t worry about the ground traffic at these crossings, focus on the taxiway.
3. Be hypervigilant ant the taxiways and the taxi lanes. We bang up our ground vehicles and equipment and break all kinds of rules out there but the stakes are so much higher at the taxiway and I understand that now.
Click to expand...

You said “this week.” If it was more than a day or two ago I think you would have heard about it by now if the Pilot made a complaint or anyone else saw it and reported it. I am not saying you should ignore it. The advice above, including your own about running it by ‘Nick’ all sound like maybe good ideas.
 
Aircraft always have the right of way. Drive slower than you normally would. Airport speed limits are intentionally low. Make sure you stay in the approved vehicle lanes. Big airports often have people watching who will jump all over you if you don't follow the rules. I've ridden with Airport Ops guys who chase down other drivers at major airports.
 
I guarantee its not the first time that pilot brought the jet to a stop while saying 'WTF is that guy doing?' and it won't be the last time either.

Should you report it to your company? Yes you should and they should look favorably on you for doing so. If they don't look favorably on it or worse yet fire you for it (unlikely), they'd be doing you a favor because you shouldn't be working for a company that punishes people for trying to do the right thing.
 
I just woke up and saw some new posts. I wanted to clarify that I (and I believe just about all other ground vehicles at our hub) don’t have communications with anyone while driving. I think there are simply too many vehicles to do that. We are just supposed to visually determine whether it is safe to cross the taxiway. There is a minimum distance forward and rear, forward for obvious reasons, rear so we don’t get hit with a blast.

I did complete and pass my company’s driving course, that was a few week’s ago. My first day of actually driving around was Monday. An experienced driver on my crew accompanied me on my first two days of driving, but he didn’t on Wednesday (time of incident) because he was busy and I assured him I knew where to take the freight. He had also just warned me about the taxiway the previous day, saying there were severe penalties for violations, and giving me some tips on how to estimate the crossing distances.

I don’t blame anyone except me for my failure. My training was a little rushed and inadequate in some respects, but it was made clear to me several times the importance of being safe at the taxiway.

As to the broader culture of the operation, it is undoubtedly terrible. It has recently been called “a zoo” by a new member of senior upper management who is trying to reform things.
 
ignoramus999 said:
I just woke up and saw some new posts. I wanted to clarify that I (and I believe just about all other ground vehicles at our hub) don’t have communications with anyone while driving. I think there are simply too many vehicles to do that. We are just supposed to visually determine whether it is safe to cross the taxiway. There is a minimum distance forward and rear, forward for obvious reasons, rear so we don’t get hit with a blast.

I did complete and pass my company’s driving course, that was a few week’s ago. My first day of actually driving around was Monday. An experienced driver on my crew accompanied me on my first two days of driving, but he didn’t on Wednesday (time of incident) because he was busy and I assured him I knew where to take the freight. He had also just warned me about the taxiway the previous day, saying there were severe penalties for violations, and giving me some tips on how to estimate the crossing distances.

I don’t blame anyone except me for my failure. My training was a little rushed and inadequate in some respects, but it was made clear to me several times the importance of being safe at the taxiway.

As to the broader culture of the operation, it is undoubtedly terrible. It has recently been called “a zoo” by a new member of senior upper management who is trying to reform things.
Click to expand...
Nobody’s talking to each other and it’s a zoo? Hmmm, I wonder what could be done about that.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
I guarantee its not the first time that pilot brought the jet to a stop while saying 'WTF is that guy doing?' and it won't be the last time either.
Click to expand...

Precisely why they always tell passengers to remain in their seats with the seatbelts fastened until the aircraft comes to a complete stop.
 
Salty said:
Nobody’s talking to each other and it’s a zoo? Hmmm, I wonder what could be done about that.
Click to expand...
I’m not really sure what you’re alluding to. Do other airports equip all the ground ops people with radios? That seems like it would produce chaos on the radio.
 
At KRNO I hear ground vehicles getting clearances all the time that only involve taxiways. I’m surprised the OP does not have a radio.
 
ignoramus999 said:
I just woke up and saw some new posts. I wanted to clarify that I (and I believe just about all other ground vehicles at our hub) don’t have communications with anyone while driving. I think there are simply too many vehicles to do that. We are just supposed to visually determine whether it is safe to cross the taxiway. There is a minimum distance forward and rear, forward for obvious reasons, rear so we don’t get hit with a blast.

I did complete and pass my company’s driving course, that was a few week’s ago. My first day of actually driving around was Monday. An experienced driver on my crew accompanied me on my first two days of driving, but he didn’t on Wednesday (time of incident) because he was busy and I assured him I knew where to take the freight. He had also just warned me about the taxiway the previous day, saying there were severe penalties for violations, and giving me some tips on how to estimate the crossing distances.

I don’t blame anyone except me for my failure. My training was a little rushed and inadequate in some respects, but it was made clear to me several times the importance of being safe at the taxiway.

As to the broader culture of the operation, it is undoubtedly terrible. It has recently been called “a zoo” by a new member of senior upper management who is trying to reform things.
Click to expand...

Accepting responsibility for your own actions. That seems to be getting rarer and rarer everyday. My hat is off to you sir.
 
DesertNomad said:
At KRNO I hear ground vehicles getting clearances all the time that only involve taxiways. I’m surprised the OP does not have a radio.
Click to expand...

<---- glad I don't work at Reno. I have worked at airports where all traffic has to contact ground for taxiway clearance and at bases where they don't. I prefer the latter. Talking to every Tom Dick and Hairy with a radio is a huge pain in the sack and mostly unnecessary.
 
I've had ramp access with driving privileges at several large airports. Most have places where the vehicle access roads cross taxiways. And the vast majority of the vehicles that cross do not have radios. And you really don't want them to as there are too many of them and their drivers don't know and aren't taught radio protocols. The drivers are taught the rules of the road and right of way rules. And this is typically taught by the airport and a written test is given. Then companies do the practical portion of the training. Some companies have their training highly structured, many don't. This can put the inexperienced or the careless driver at risk. It can also put planes taxiing at risk. And in this environment, an employer with a bad safety culture is an abomination.
 
I feel the need to justify my claim that the culture is unsafe just so that people won’t think I am making things up to excuse my actions. Here are a few things I’ve noticed in less than two months with the company:

1. We are required to always brake and chalk our dollies when they aren’t hooked up. This is only sporadically done, which has caused the wind to blow them into parked planes.
2. We are never supposed to leave chalks on the ground or carry them around on the bumper of our vehicles, as they can fall off onto the road. Hitting a chalk can cause a vehicle to flip, or knock it into another oncoming vehicle, or cause the steering wheel to suddenly spin around, potentially injuring the driver’s wrists or arms. Nevertheless, our ramps and roads are LITTERED with chalks.
3. We are supposed to stop and blow our horns at every stop sign, and also blow or horns every time we start driving, particularly when towing a string of freight. The majority of drivers do neither.
4. Obviously this is only a matter of personal safety, but the vast majority of personnel (even managers) don’t wear earplugs on the ramp, even when planes are parking quite close by.
5. We aren’t supposed to cut through a gate in order to reach a road on the other side of the gate unless that is the gate that your crew is working, but this is a commonplace occurrence.
6. The marshals aren’t supposed to start pushing/towing/tugging (I don’t know the proper term) the plane out of the gate until all personnel are out of the gate boundary. And yet a few weeks ago I observed a marshal start pushing a plane while a handler was still UNDERNEATH the body of the aircraft, having just picked up the cones that are supposed to be picked up before a plane departs.
7. If we are meant to observe certain speed limits, why aren’t our vehicles equipped with speedometers? Not everyone is good at estimating speed by sight, and some of vehicles have a lot more zip than others.
8. At least 50% of our vehicles have inoperative parking brakes. I once saw a parked on a slight slope (not on the ramp but at a building) roll down almost onto the roadway, despite the parking break being engaged and the gear in neutral. It is also possible to drive many of our vehicles while the parking break is engaged without losing speed. This happens because employees don’t go to the trouble of reporting when their parking break wears out.
10. Finally, though it isn’t a safety matter, I routinely see packages that have fallen onto the road sitting there at the end of the night. I wonder how many crucial shipments have been missed because no one cared to pick them up.

There are other things, but they probably aren’t as relevant to pilots who are mainly worried about vehicles. Again, what I did was my fault completely, but someone was curious about the culture so I thought I would offer some insight as to what goes on at our hub and probably at many such cargo hubs all over the world.
 
Worked the ramp at ORD back in college, late 70's. It was a zoo back then and I doubt it's any different today. As for the OP, chill, nothing's going to come of it as described. WEAR YOUR HEARING PROTECTION. Don't ask me why cuz I can't hear you.

Oh by the way, I ended quitting that job although I liked working around planes. The reason I quit was the unsafe working conditions. Supervisors worried more about loading and unloading aircraft as quickly as possible and cutting safety corners to make it happen. See, I guess things haven't changed.
 
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One more thing. Hitting the plane or causing the plane to hit something else would have qualified as a big mistake. What you did was just a normal size mistake. If you want to make a big mistake you're just going to have to try harder next time.

And yeah a chock is what you use to keep equipment from rolling. Chalk is what you use to draw the outline around body of the person that got killed because you didn't chock your wheels. ;)
 
ignoramus999 said:
Ah...thanks. I’ll “chock” that one up to the similar pronunciation.
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Hmm. I could see chock or chalk working in that metaphor. You could chock the idea in place, solidifying it in your mind, or record it on the board in chalk.
 
You are new at your job. You made a mistake. Mistake was caught, nobody got hurt and no metal was bent.
If your employer has a safety reporting system, put in a report. Also go to the NASA website and file an ASRS report.


ignoramus999 said:
1. I’m not going to wear my earplugs when driving around the ramp anymore. A big part of why I didn’t notice the plane coming was that I couldn’t hear it. Obviously I should look everytime, but ears make for a good back up.
Click to expand...

Don't do that. Just keep your head on a swivel. The job may be temporary, the hearing loss is permanent.

2. Don’t worry about the ground traffic at these crossings, focus on the taxiway.
Click to expand...

Ifyou get two cargo trains tangled half way into the taxiway, you create just as much of a mess as if you miss a plane on the twy.
Follow your employers and the airports policies.

3. Be hypervigilant ant the taxiways and the taxi lanes. We bang up our ground vehicles and equipment and break all kinds of rules out there but the stakes are so much higher at the taxiway and I understand that now.
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
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Timbeck2 said:
<---- glad I don't work at Reno. I have worked at airports where all traffic has to contact ground for taxiway clearance and at bases where they don't. I prefer the latter. Talking to every Tom Dick and Hairy with a radio is a huge pain in the sack and mostly unnecessary.
Click to expand...

On our non-towered field the ground crew thinks they need to announce every time they cross a taxiway or ramp. Then again when they're clear. That REALLY fills the airways. I understand it if there were 20 planes trying to taxi or if they were crossing a runway but there's rarely more than 1 or 2 planes using the airport at any given moment.
 
ignoramus999 said:
7. If we are meant to observe certain speed limits, why aren’t our vehicles equipped with speedometers? Not everyone is good at estimating speed by sight, and some of vehicles have a lot more zip than others.
Click to expand...

Your actual speed is really rather irrelevant, its not like you are going to get pulled over and ticketed for speeding. The "speedometer" in most planes commonly wont even show speeds below 20mph or so and even then its hardly accurate. The idea is to exercise good judgement of your speed.

Small plane pilots are taught to taxi no faster than a fast walk or maybe slow jog though plenty will taxi faster. Obviously larger aircraft taxi faster than that (they're also more "stable" in their controls) at bigger airports all the time, especially on the taxiways coming off the runways but as I understand it even the larger aircraft try to keep speeds in the 20-30mph range.

Basically drive like you're in a residential neighborhood or school zone.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Precisely why they always tell passengers to remain in their seats with the seatbelts fastened until the aircraft comes to a complete stop.
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but but but I have to be the first one out of my seat to grab my carry on even though I'm in row 42C!
 
If you have an internal safety program, use it. If not inform your supervisor. 99.9% chance nothing will come of this, but either of those options may result in learning better procedures.

I will add, this week in CLT one of our rampers was killed when his tug struck a fallen suitcase. The tug flipped over on top of him. He was 24. This is a dangerous job, be careful.
 
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