On 20 September 2009, at about 1630 Western Standard Time, a
Boeing 737-400 (737) aircraft, had been pushed back from the
domestic terminal onto the taxiway at Perth Airport, Western
Australia (WA), when a technical fault was experienced. The
aircraft remained in position to allow the flight crew to examine
the fault. At the same time, a Boeing 717- 200 (717) aircraft,
located in an adjacent bay, requested a pushback clearance from the
surface movement controller (SMC). The SMC advised the 717 flight
crew to contact their ground crew to discuss suitable pushback
options. The 717 was pushed back with the aircraft kept as close to
the terminal as possible. A clearance marshaller was located next
to the left wing of the 717.
The flight crew of the 737 and the ground engineer for the 717
estimated that the wing of the 717 and the nose of the 737 were 11
m apart. However, the ground engineer for the 737 reported that the
distance between the two aircraft was within 1 m and that as a
result, he and another ground engineer with him may have been
placed within the inlet and exhaust hazard area of the 717.
It was not possible to reconcile the differing accounts of
aircraft proximity. However, the incident highlights the potential
dangers associated with ground operations around jet aircraft and
the need for particular care and attention when dealing with
dynamic traffic situations.