That’s a bit harsh, there is likely an engineer also feeling pretty average themselves over this, perhaps wrong NIGS, but likely not being properly attentive on the stop button was the final hole in the Swiss cheese.

You can't set the NIGS on 18A for a 737, the control panel won't let you.

Maybe we shouldn’t point fingers at engineers just yet!

Feel for the guys or girls! Only silver linings is it will cost qantas 2 planes out of service for a while and stop any strike breaking.

If it's only a love-tap, can they both be unbolted and is the 737 certified to fly with only one winglet? Recall seeing several photos of a QF 747 about the traps with only one, but NFI if the baby Boeing can do the same.

​​​​​​​Perhaps we should not point fingers at anyone yet? Until we know all the FACTS. Just a thought.

At a minimum they should get authority to ferry it to a repair base.

The damage (on first glance) doesn't seem too bad - this AA 737 made a much bigger gash in the wing when it taxied into a light pole in Dallas a few years back. That aircraft was repaired and back in service after a few weeks.

Nah point fingers at the designer of that miserable bit of apron, lines, lighting and all.

​​​​​​​Haven't been there for a bit but there used to be an intam regarding the lines onto those bays in particular.

The pause at 1300 UTC in MickGo’s post ties in with the recent requirement for aircraft to hold off on the taxiway until guidance is available. Maybe the data is accurate maybe not? In a rumour forum that might suggest that the crew were waiting for guidance onto their bay.
600-ftlb said which would suggest that the guidance that convinced the crew to carry on to the parking position came in a form other than NIGS. Pure speculation but it’s a possibility.

I suspect that design was only instituted at Qanta's request as they couldn't possibly do LHR direct without having an international transfer over that side. I don't recall 18A and 20A existing prior to that requirement.

Wouldn't the marshall have realised the aircraft was off-line/not in line straightened aircraft up?

They were installed for Virgin Australia's A330s around 2011 along with 17A.

​​​​​​​It hasn't been established that they were being marshalled.

Ah ok I was wrong on that, my bad. By the time I came back VA widebodies were using 147/148/149 so wasn't seeing any widebodies in those bays

Googling "Perth Aircraft Turnaround" will offer a 24 page PDF document which would appear to cover almost every situation - except perhaps that of a flawed design which, given the right combination of adverse factors, can still conspire to bring about a mishap of this kind.

From The West today (5Mar):

Chairman's Lounge Platinum member?

So the fact that passengers were disembarking and possibly going down the stairs on the stationary aircraft was NOT a safety issue? The ‘jolt’ felt by passengers is not of concern?

No safety learning outcomes. That figures…

I think that could easily be dismissed as a joke but am starting to wonder exactly how far the Chairman’s Lounge ‘reciprocity bias’ reach actually is.
I am also surprised that no Australian journalist has publicly asked the question as to whether any of the Fair Work commissioners involved in the upcoming IB declaration are members of the Chairman’s Lounge. If they refuse to state that they are not members then the story has legs and someone could make a name for themselves. Michael West? Kim Wingerei?

That's a really concerning attitude from the SAFETY Bureau.