Commercial Fixed Wing
Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown
Conflict Ground Conflict; Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Procedure; Human Factors; Company Policy; Airport; Aircraft
After an uneventful approach; landing; and taxi to the gate; we approached the J-line for our gate. While verifying that the safety zone was clear; we noticed that a provisioning truck was servicing the forward galley of the aircraft at the adjacent gate. The lower tailgate of the truck was very close to the edge of the safety zone but we determined that it was outside the line and continued. I taxied very slowly because the box of the truck looked close from my angle of sight. We did not receive any signal to stop and parked without incident. However; the wing walker came up to the cockpit to talk to us afterwards and mentioned that he noticed me looking at the wingtip; and he had the same concerns I did. He stated that the wingtip and the truck box seemed very close; approximately one foot in his estimation. He also was wondering if I could see his wand because; at that point; he and the Marshaler had no line of sight with each other due to the jetbridge. My concern is that if I am looking at the Marshaler and he cannot see the left Wing Walker in this situation; then we are essentially blind. Even though nothing happened; I feel like I should have stopped and waited for the truck to move. The Wing Walker and the rest of the Ground Crew did an excellent job getting us parked without incident but that seems like a situation with a high potential for a negative outcome. Although a negative outcome was avoided; it may be beneficial to have a note in the SIP to let Crews know that the Marshaler and Wing Walker cannot see each other at a certain point in the parking process. I don't know if this is a common issue at every gate; but I always thought they could see each other the entire time.
Air Carrier pilot reported the wing walker told them they missed contacting a parked truck at an adjacent gate by one foot while taxiing in.