Stanstead - two planes, one stand
 

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum (mods please move) but here goes ...

I was in Stanstead last Friday night, awaiting a flight to SNN. Sitting waiting to board, I witnessed something I've never seen before at an airport.

A Ryanair flight (org Dub I believe) was coming towards its stand (LHS) and was being followed by an Easyjet flight which had its stand in the RHS. At the last second, the Ryanair flight decided to turn into the stand on the RHS. The easyjet plane slammed on the brakes, and narrowly (A few feet in my estimation) avoided hitting the Ryanair flight.

After a standoff for a few minutes, the Ryanair flight managed to turn correctly into its designated stand on the LHS.

My questions - who gives the stand info to the pilots, and is this a common occurrence?

Who gives the stand info?
The ground controller instructs the pilot which stand to park on

Is this a common occurance?
Yes - at airfields that have a separate ground frequency - it is commonly the ground controller that gives that instruction


louby

Is this a common occurance?
Yes - at airfields that have a separate ground frequency - it is commonly the ground controller that gives that instrution


louby[/quote]

Thanks louby. Would there be an investigation after such an incident or is it a pretty common occurrence with larger planes?

Thanks louby. Would there be an investigation after such an incident or is it a pretty common occurrence with larger planes?[/QUOTE]

sounds like a pilot error - the ryanair just turned onto he wrong stand. It happens sometimes not very often. People make mistakes

Airports like Stansted which use stand entry guidance systems have a procedure where the ground handling staff switch on the guidance when the stand is clear and in readiness for an arriving aircraft. If the entry guidance is not switched on the pilot should not park on the stand as it could be unsafe. Seems like in this case the entry guidance was switched on both stands LHS and RHS for the Ryanair and Easyjet and one started to park on the wrong side. Aircraft following one another towards similar parking areas should be aware of each others movements and apply sufficient separation to ensure that in events such as this there is ample time and distance to deal appropriately with the situation safely. "Slammimg" on the brakes and narrowly avoiding hitting the other aircraft sounds a bit extreme.

Perhaps the chap at the back will leave a little more room in future...?

Of course it could be the european gangs that have been causing so many accidents by disconnecting their brake lights and 'slamming' on their brakes just after they pass you so that they can claim on the insurance. Maybe they've decided to expand the idea to a larger scale :} :} :}

left and right together CANNOT happen.most probable answer is...foreign pilot,poor english,no understand so sorry!!!!!!