Cessna Citation Sovereign (C680)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
Flight Crew Became Reoriented; Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control
Human Factors
This event did not happen to us. We were parked in an adjacent aircraft. A Sovereign; was parked with APU running and door closed; crew in back of aircraft. I assume they might have been preparing to depart. Ground crew took away chocks without confirming anything with pilots first and aircraft began rolling at a fast clip towards a drain grate with a ramp grade in front of them and another XL parked a few feet in front of that. The CSR called for help and knocked on the fuselage to gain crew awareness of the roll; which was quite rapid and approaching taxi speed. The crew jumped up front and applied brakes; the aircraft stopped without impact. We observed the agent being scolded by his peers and the flight crew do another walk around to insure aircraft integrity prior to flight. FBO Ground crew NOTORIOUSLY removes chocks at this company. This NEVER happened at the airlines. We run an airline type operation yet lack the SOP afforded by it due to the fact we basically outsource those jobs to FBOs. I have no clear answer as we're already responsible for about 30 different departments. You'd think that a ramp agent might wait to pull chocks; but not this time.
Prior to the arrival of the owners; the co-pilot; went out to prepare the aircraft for the next leg. This was our second leg of the day. While waiting for our owners; I was able to talk to our on site Customer Service Representative and she informed me that the owners would drive their vehicle right to the aircraft; so I proceeded to the aircraft to wait. Upon reaching the aircraft I asked the co-pilot if there is anything I needed to do; he said it was all done. Upon the owners arrivals I was informed that he had mobility issues and that he would need help getting up the stairs and into the aircraft. The co-pilot started loading passenger bags into the aft baggage compartment and I proceeded to help our passenger into the aircraft. As I was performing my customer service duties; unbeknownst to me; the co-pilot had entered the cabin. Trying to keep the cabin at a comfortable temperature we had the window shades closed. I felt and heard the cabin door closing; almost immediately I heard the co-pilot say; I think they need us; he opened the door; and it became apparent that the aircraft was moving. The co-pilot jumped into the cockpit and was able to set the parking brake. My first response was who pulled the chalks; the co-pilot informed me that he had directed the line guys to pull the chocks. I had not directed the co-pilot or the line guys to do that; I was still in the back of the aircraft taking care of our passengers. After the incident I went out look over the airplane and noticed that we were no where close to any other airplane and that we did not hit anything so; I decided to continue with our flight. I need to emphasize to my co-pilot the need to follow proper SOPs.
A witness and the two CE680 pilots involved report their aircraft rolling with no one in the cockpit after the First Officer instructs a lineman to remove the chocks without insuring that the parking brake is set. Banging on the fuselage alerts the crew to the aircraft movement and the parking brake is set before a collision can occur.