Overshooting the airbridge

[Warks]

Today QF510 arrived in BNE from SYD and managed to overshoot the airbridge necessitating having everyone sit down again and the tug pushing us back a bit. We didn't put the belts back on and the FAs closed the lockers in J but not Y. We seemed to go back about 10 cm and stop. They never told us it was all done but there was a chime and everyone got up in the manner of Pavlov's dog.

Interesting for me in over 20 years of flying and over 1000 flights (well give or take) this hadn't happened to me before.

We were already 20 minutes late, it didn't make a huge difference but I wonder what the correct 'procedure' was here.
Anyone else have this happen? I'm sure it's more common than I think.

 

[oz_mark]

I've had it happen once on a flight to Perth. Don't know how much they pushed us back but it wasn't much. We hadn't taken our belts off and the captain came on and told us what was happening and asked us to remain seated while it happened.

 

[Austman]

I've had it happen a few times. No reverse gear means having to wait for the tug.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

Happened to me a few times as well, no drama.

Although, I've never figured out why the rush to be the first one to stand up and get bags from the lockers. More energy and you might have saved 3.7 seconds in deplaning. It's usually the noob travellers that do this I notice.

 

[Fantic125]

Happened last Sunday with QF6 when we arrived in SYD from SIN. The announcement from the First Officer was that 'the guidance system for the airbridge was incorrectly set, therefore we needed to re-position the plane".

Everyone had to sit back down, while they re-manouvered. Took about 10 mins to get the tug connected up, they pushed back about 5 ~ 10 metres then brought it forward again. Still no good, so they had to repeat it.

Finally de-planed about 20 minutes after arrival.

 

[elbarto]

A friend of mine who used to work at LGW told me that something like this was a regular occurrence and resulted in the stairs being used to deplane

 

[RB]

Although, I've never figured out why the rush to be the first one to stand up and get bags from the lockers. More energy and you might have saved 3.7 seconds in deplaning. It's usually the noob travellers that do this I notice.

I am wondering how you actually come to the conclusion that it is noobs? Unfortunately I think it could be something that has grown to overcome bad manners that sees some people surging through from the back-this is not necessarily a reflection of flying experience

 

[Flying Fox]

Yes, I've experienced this too.

In a simliar vein, I have had an L-plate airbridge operator who took 10mins to attempt to connect the bridge to the aircraft. Unfortunately or fortunately, a second more experienced operator had to take over and do the job so that we could all get off.

Quite amusing to watch the airbridge go up/down, left/right, back/forth etc

 

[ozmille]

Yes, I've experienced this too.

In a simliar vein, I have had an L-plate airbridge operator who took 10mins to attempt to connect the bridge to the aircraft. Unfortunately or fortunately, a second more experienced operator had to take over and do the job so that we could all get off.

Quite amusing to watch the airbridge go up/down, left/right, back/forth etc

I've had this and is sooooo annoying after nearly 24hrs from London to have someone messing around with the aerobridge. Can't they practice on domestic or during the day when nobody wants to get off? The planes are idle for hours, lots of practice time I would say

 

[tuapekastar]

Happened to me a few times as well, no drama.

Although, I've never figured out why the rush to be the first one to stand up and get bags from the lockers. More energy and you might have saved 3.7 seconds in deplaning. It's usually the noob travellers that do this I notice.

Never overshot the bridge, but have been on a couple of flights where it's taken 5 to 10 minutes to 'connect' it to the plane.

And I have to confess to being one of those that stand as soon as (NOT before) the seatbelt sign goes off.

I put this down to:

1) Invariably being in the aisle seat
2) Having been sat down for between 1 and 14 hours (leg stretch overdue)
3) Wanting to prepare for disembarkation - nothing worse than having an 'issue' with bag/locker and holding others up
4) If I didn't occupy the aisle space, someone else would.

I've been known to retrieve bags for middle/window pax in my row as well.

 

[Groundfeeder]

I've experienced an "undershoot" at the airbridge after arriving at BNE during a storm. Our aircraft was held on the taxiway for about 20 min during the storm then taxied up to the airbridge and held about 20m away for about 30 mins. Appears ground staff sheltered from lightning (OK) but no one would operate the airbridge due similar risk!! :?:

Seems to me that the operator is inside the shell and seemingly well protected from the elements, so a fairly grumpy planeload of disgruntled pax finally were able to disembark well after the storm had passed.

 

[docjames]

How about this one: the last flight in from MEL on a sunday night into BNE, we managed to taxi up on arrivla (5 mins early) and park at the wrong gate. Seatbelt sign off, everyone had already gotten up, bags out of lockers etc. After 10 mins standing in the aisle, Captain annouced the issue, and ee had to re-stow ALL luggage (yes, they enforced this) and towed us to another gate (the one next to us).

End time cost: over 35 minutes. :evil::evil:

The 25 minute wait that followed for suitcases wasnt good either. :evil:

 

[Warks]

Of course it may have happened in the past but they may have done the deed before turning the seatbelt light off leaving us none the wiser.
Sounds like it's more common that I thought. The actually have a guidance system for this - well that's what they blamed.

Interestingly I had the same pilot on my return flight to SYD today - why do I remember? It was a woman pilot and there still aren't enough of them around not to notice.

 

[jb747]

There are lots of facets to this discussion. Guidance systems vary from airport to airport. Some are very simple (and so rarely go wrong) and others are complex enough to control a space shuttle. It is very rare for the lineup to be out by more than a few inches. Even though the systems provide line up guidance, the turn in is done by the tried and true "about now' method, and generally gets the aircraft correctly aligned with no need for lateral corrections. And if you have a nose gear camera, it's even easier.

Stopping guidance comes in many forms. It can be as simple as a box next to the coughpit with a light that disappears at the correct spot. It may be a something driven by parallax, and full of markers for every model and type of aircraft to ever use the bay. One system was simply a stick with a rubber ball on the end, and you taxied until it touched the window in front of you. Crude, but very effective. As was a bloke with a couple of flags.

Or, the system that is becoming common around the world....laser guided, complex, shows you the shape it has 'read' as you turn in...and bloody prone to just jumping from almost there to TOO FAR, without anything in the middle. And many bridges have quite limited levels of adjustment, so if you aren't at the right spot, then you'll need a tug. How accurate is it...well, I'll bet that the aircraft are far more accurately parked than the vast majority of cars in any car park.

Going to the 'wrong' gate is very rare...but going to a gate that is different to the gate that the terminal staff expect you at is quite common. Externally, the crew will normally be given the gate whilst on descent. The tower will also know the gate, but it isn't uncommon for a new one to be allocated on first contact with the tower. So, you go where you were told, and the engineers put you onto the gate, but the terminal staff have been told something else.

 

[hopes]

I was on CX to MEL and they completely misjudged the gate approach. Was 5 am or some equally godforsaken hour and no one was around to push us back for another go. About 1.5 hour spent sitting to add to the 9 flying. It can't be that hard to park up can it? My flight simulation programme doesn't even have this feature.

 

[jb747]

Seems to me that the operator is inside the shell and seemingly well protected from the elements, so a fairly grumpy planeload of disgruntled pax finally were able to disembark well after the storm had passed.

Is he? I'd have thought that if he happened to touch the aircraft and it took a hit, then he may be one source to earth. But, the groundies won't put the chocks in anyway, so, I'm sorry, but you're stuck.

 

[jb747]

I was on CX to MEL and they completely misjudged the gate approach.

Yes, but how do you actually know they misjudged it? Melbourne is one of the places I was thinking off when I mentioned stopping systems that go from 'nearly' to 'way past' with no intermediate steps. Guess that's what happens when a bank runs the airports.

 

[hopes]

Yes, but how do you actually know they misjudged it? Melbourne is one of the places I was thinking off when I mentioned stopping systems that go from 'nearly' to 'way past' with no intermediate steps. Guess that's what happens when a bank runs the airports.

We were at 45 degrees to the gate. I call that a misjudge. I think el Capitano was speeding too.

 

[jb747]

Well, I can probably tell you which gate it was in that case. D9 has an extremely misleading guidance line ('cos there is another bay at an angle to it)...follow the wrong one, and bugger....

 

[RB]

Sometimes we see where a proportion of people believe they know more than the pilot, cabbie, bus driver, ferry captain etc that has been entrusted to get them to their destination. Those same people don't always have an awareness of all the circumstances