MD-11
Maintenance Apprentice
Training / Qualification; Situational Awareness; Confusion; Communication Breakdown
Ground Event / Encounter Vehicle
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged
Chart Or Publication; Equipment / Tooling; Human Factors
I was working in echo wash [facility] pad for the deicing event. I was paired together with Maintenance Technician X; [who was working as deicing co-coordinator]. We had a briefing where we were informed that we would be working together and in echo wash facility. We were instructed to have the wash facility up and running in two and a half hours. We were given no further instructions specifically about the echo wash facility. Upon arrival to echo wash; Deice Manager was already setting up the wash pad and staging the deice trucks. Once everything was set up; we waited for our first aircraft to come through to be deiced. While we were waiting two aircraft passed through the wash without wanting deice. When the planes passed through; the deice trucks were in the same location that they were when the later accident occurred. Our first aircraft notified us that they wanted to be deiced that aircraft was a B757. I marshaled that aircraft straight ahead to a stopping point were he would be deiced; the deice operation was performed and the aircraft was cleared to taxi. Our second aircraft notified us that they wanted to be deiced; it was an MD-11; [and] so with the trucks staged in the same location I started to marshal the MD-11 straight ahead. As the aircraft approached the appropriate location to be deiced; the right wing hit the deice truck that was staged waiting to deice; so I gave the pilot an X [signal] to stop. We checked with the Deice Manager; to ensure the trucks were staged in the proper location and he said they were. Earlier in the night; Technician X and I had driven over there to inspect that the trucks were behind the yellow line and they were. After the accident we were instructed that the plane was on the wrong line and that it needed to be marshaled off the centerline to a secondary line. Prior to the accident I was never informed that the aircraft needed to be marshaled off of the centerline; Technician X also said that he had never been informed. I had also never worked in the echo wash facility prior to this night as a coordinator. We did have a diagram that showed us the layout of the echo wash [pad]; but nowhere on it did it say anything about marshalling the aircraft off the centerline. After the accident I was also informed by the deice Manager that they sometimes used that setup for the wash with the deice trucks staged in that location.           I think that the accident happened due to a lack of training and a failure of information being presented about specific instructions pertaining to individual washes. If we would [have] had more detailed training and/or the instructions would have been given to us about the aircraft needing to be marshaled off the centerline; this accident would [have] been avoided. In regards to this accident I have been instructed that the aircraft has to be marshaled 'off' the centerline. If that same information is displayed to all current and future coordinators this type of accident should be avoided.
It was at night. Company Air Carrier had activated the deice program due to snow and freezing rain forecasted and falling. I; Aircraft Maintenance Technician X; was working the Echo wash pad [facility] for the first time as a deice coordinator for aircraft maintenance and was to be training a Maintenance Support Agent. The Agent was the 'Marshall' [guide in person] and I had radio communication with flight crew and [Control] Tower for the night. With this being my first time at echo wash; I spoke with the Station deicing Manager about placement of deice trucks; and he said the deice trucks would be 'OK' as long as they were behind the yellow line near grass (shoulder of taxiway). After speaking with the deice Manager; we began to start having airplanes wanting to be sprayed for deice. We had sprayed one aircraft with no problem and had several taxi through our wash [pad] to be offloaded before we had an MD-11 aircraft come to our wash. The MD-11 contacted us to be sprayed and was told to follow Marshaller. Once the aircraft started taxing into echo wash he struck a deice truck on the right wing. This happened because the aircraft was not taken 'off' the centerline of the taxiway and the lack of training (everyone involved) and deice pad mapping handouts. The handouts given with maps / layouts are not accurate. There is no wording; warnings or cautions and there is not a 'hashed line' on the map depicting when and where to take aircraft off centerline. Per pilot airport diagram; the pilot has a lido telling them they are to taxi onto hashed line east of centerline at the echo deice pad. Station deice Manager; had deice trucks staged in wrong area of deice pad; per deice pad diagram. In my opinion; there should be more training for everyone involved in the deice program and better mapping with wording (such as caution or danger) of the deice wash pads that require aircraft to come 'off' centerline. If there is to be a caution or danger; there needs to be something highlighted on what the caution or danger is. There also needs to be a line painted on the taxiway just for deice to prevent this from happening again. There is not a valid reference point to start marshalling aircraft off centerline at this location. Aircraft damage.
A Line Mechanic and Maintenance Support Agent describe how a lack of training; lack of accurate deice pad mapping layouts; and the lack of an alternate guide-in line contributed to a MD-11 aircraft's right wing leading edge striking a deicing truck.