Eclipse 500
Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100; Flight Crew Total 13950; Flight Crew Type 1750
Training / Qualification; Communication Breakdown; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Vehicle
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; General Maintenance Action
Procedure; Human Factors
[I] conducted a maintenance flight to verify a repair. Decided to return aircraft to shop for additional parking brake work. [I] taxied to maintenance door and shutdown engines. Ground crew approached with tug; dismounted; and approached front gear. I was discussing flight with Mechanic who accompanied previous flight when I observed line crewman turn back to tug. I thought he had chocked nose tire the first time and was reaching for tow bar. At this point I prepared to exit aircraft when it rolled forward and struck tug. The collision damaged the radome only. A new radome will arrive and be installed tomorrow morning. Damage report not required as per NTSB 830 reporting instructions but the lesson to be learned is to always act based on established aircraft handling procedures. Had any hand signals been given by the line crewman I would have remained on the brakes and avoided the incident. It was my responsibility to verify the line actions prior to getting out of aircraft. All personnel involved have been briefed and properly trained for future operations. Turnover is a reality at all FBO's; but experienced pilots should not accept handling signal omissions when observed. Properly used standard signals are what ensure safe operations. We have also had a rash of line crew contacting hot pitot tubes while chocking the nose gear at multiple locations across the country. We use special emphasis on preflight now even for a quick turn.
Eclipse 500 pilot assumes that the ground crewman approaching his aircraft is installing chocks and prepares to exit. At this point the aircraft rolled forward and struck the tug.