Large Transport; Low Wing; 2 Turbojet Eng
Distraction; Situational Awareness
Conflict Ground Conflict; Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Human Factors; Procedure
We had arrived on Runway 18R in CLT and were working our way to the gate. We contacted Ramp Control and entered the southeastern part of the ramp and were asked to hold on the south of the ramp; heading east; [and] short of Bravo. Moments after we set the parking brake we both saw a Regional Jet pass extremely close to us on our left hand side at a high rate of speed. I looked at his nosewheel and saw that he was well to the right of the yellow taxi line; toward us. I estimate he was at least 15 feet to the right of the taxi line. I believe he was close enough that his winglet passed underneath our wing. That winglet looked very; very close as it went whizzing past us. I called the Ramp Controller to tell him what had happened. He told me he would call their operations people. Thirty seconds later he called me back with their flight number.We get used to seeing Regional Jet's and other Carriers B737's taxiing at high rates of speed but this was unusual. This aircraft then zigzagged between two other parked airplanes in his hurry to the gate. His close pass to us was one of the most irresponsible actions I've witnessed in 37 years of flying. Both the Captain and I were pretty rattled by this close call. Commercial aviation safety is all about making choices that minimize exposure. One of the pleasures of working at my Air Carrier is the safety consciousness and conservatism that comes from such a senior pilot group. We don't have any cowboys here any longer. The Captain and I were flying an $87 million dollar airplane which could have been severely damaged by this incident; dumping hundreds of pounds of fuel on the ramp; causing millions of dollars of damage and disrupting the flight schedule for months. And all of it completely; totally avoidable. We were just lucky; and so was the guy driving that Regional Jet.
An Air Carrier First Officer reported a Regional Jet's winglet passed extremely close; if not under; his stationary aircraft's wingtip and then continued between two other aircraft as it sped to its CLT gate.