rubberjungle
26th Feb 2006, 12:09
I am a UK based longhaul pilot and regularly frequent the major US airports.
The ramp procedures constantly amaze me.
Less busy places like TPA are fine--no ramp control just work your own way to the gate no problems there.
DFW also works well in fine weather, - absolutely miles of space and plenty of ramp acess points.
PHL and EWR can be a bit of a disaster I/bound and o/bound a/c jostling to pass each other cul de sacs etc. They do both have a ramp control but I can't understand the lack of coordination between them and ground/tower.
ie. if they are busy you will finally get a push clearance but once pushed with engines running etc you are instructed to monitor ground, I have sat and waited and waited 20 or 30 mins many times. Burning loads of fuel and blocking the ramp. Surely ramp can delay the push untill ground have decided where you will fit into the traffic so saving fuel and not blocking the ramp.
It seems that the ramp guy is only bothered with pushing you because then it is job done and you are now somebody else's problem.
IAH, I recently had to emergency stop from 8kts, had taxied to our ramp exit point, told to monitor gnd, finally given clearance to taxy out with a hurry it up instruction--(jet blast--confined ramp--big heavy jet, go figure) we started to exit the ramp as instructed when a Continental RJ who was stationary waiting to enter rapidly accelerated towards us from a seperate taxiway 90* off and passed under our left wing hence the rapid stop.
Complained to GND who said "umm I don't know, guess he's working the ramp frequency maybe they cleared him in"
The problem was we were monitoring GND waiting to exit and he was monitoring Ramp waiting to enter, and they obviously do not communicate to each other as the incident report we filed revealed. Good airmanship suggests monitoring both and at some airports (ORD) this is required but not at IAH, in the future I will but it is not always easy if both freq's are very busy and the ramp guy has handed you off to GND.
The Conti guy was stationery when we started moving with our taxi light on.
There is slick but there is also dangerous and this was an example of the latter.
Keep it safe guys.
The ramp procedures constantly amaze me.
Less busy places like TPA are fine--no ramp control just work your own way to the gate no problems there.
DFW also works well in fine weather, - absolutely miles of space and plenty of ramp acess points.
PHL and EWR can be a bit of a disaster I/bound and o/bound a/c jostling to pass each other cul de sacs etc. They do both have a ramp control but I can't understand the lack of coordination between them and ground/tower.
ie. if they are busy you will finally get a push clearance but once pushed with engines running etc you are instructed to monitor ground, I have sat and waited and waited 20 or 30 mins many times. Burning loads of fuel and blocking the ramp. Surely ramp can delay the push untill ground have decided where you will fit into the traffic so saving fuel and not blocking the ramp.
It seems that the ramp guy is only bothered with pushing you because then it is job done and you are now somebody else's problem.
IAH, I recently had to emergency stop from 8kts, had taxied to our ramp exit point, told to monitor gnd, finally given clearance to taxy out with a hurry it up instruction--(jet blast--confined ramp--big heavy jet, go figure) we started to exit the ramp as instructed when a Continental RJ who was stationary waiting to enter rapidly accelerated towards us from a seperate taxiway 90* off and passed under our left wing hence the rapid stop.
Complained to GND who said "umm I don't know, guess he's working the ramp frequency maybe they cleared him in"
The problem was we were monitoring GND waiting to exit and he was monitoring Ramp waiting to enter, and they obviously do not communicate to each other as the incident report we filed revealed. Good airmanship suggests monitoring both and at some airports (ORD) this is required but not at IAH, in the future I will but it is not always easy if both freq's are very busy and the ramp guy has handed you off to GND.
The Conti guy was stationery when we started moving with our taxi light on.
There is slick but there is also dangerous and this was an example of the latter.
Keep it safe guys.