Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Airport; Procedure; Company Policy
At many of our airports; the parking lead-in lines are very difficult to identify at night and/or when the pavement is wet. This problem is exacerbated when the lead-in line is not perpendicular to the terminal building. The marshalling signal depicted in the FOM is inadequate to identify the angle of the line in the conditions mentioned above. Consider this signal from the pilot's perspective out on the taxiway as we attempt to locate the line at night and/or in the rain. With this inadequate signal; the marshaller's body could be rotated 30 degrees to either side and it would look exactly the same to us. We know where the end of the line is because the Marshaller is standing on it; but we can't determine the angle of the line because we can't tell if the marshaller's body is slightly rotated. A much better signal here would be to alternate between arms straight above head and arms pointing forward and down in the direction of the line. This exaggerated arm movement that actually points in the direction of the line would easily allow us to determine where the line is and whether or not it is angled with respect to the terminal building. This is the way we used to do it and it worked well. A few of the old-time rampers still do this; and it is a welcome relief to park at one of their gates. Said another way; the current method identifies the end of the line but not the angle of the line. The proposed method identifies both the end and the angle. It would make parking much safer and less confusing when operating in less than perfect visual conditions.
Air carrier Captain reported that the company's prescribed hand signals for marshaling aircraft into parking is inadequate for purposes of identifying the ramp lead-in line at night with a wet ramp. Captain suggested returning to a marshaling signal that had previously been used.