Aircraft marshalling
Aircraft marshalling is visual signalling between ground personnel and pilots on an airport, aircraft carrier or helipad.
Activity
Marshalling is one-on-one visual communication and a part of
At airports, the marshaller signals the pilot to keep turning, slow down, stop, and shut down engines, leading the aircraft to its parking stand or to the runway. Sometimes, the marshaller indicates directions to the pilot by driving a "Follow-Me" car (usually a yellow van or pick-up truck with a checkerboard pattern) prior to disembarking and resuming signalling, though this is not an industry standard.
At busier and better equipped airports, marshallers are replaced on some stands with a
On aircraft carriers or helipads, marshallers give take-off and landing clearances to aircraft and helicopters, where the very limited space and time between take-offs and landings makes radio communications a difficult alternative.
U.S. Air Force procedures
Per the most recent
Marshallers, like other ground personnel, must use
It also prescribes "earplugs, muff-type ear defenders, or headsets in the immediate area of aircraft that have engines, Auxiliary Power Unit, or Gas Turbine Compressor running." Excessive noise can cause hearing loss in marshallers, either imperceptibly over years or after a one-time acoustic trauma.[2] In the United States noise limits at work are set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Despite efforts to standaridize aspects of aviation communication, such as terminology and language, hand signals used to guide aircraft on the ground still vary between various major organizations, such as the Noise exposure
Fixed wing aircraft hand signals
FAA hand signals
During darkness or periods of poor visibility, the signals remain the same, but the signaler should use illuminated marshaling wands, or another handheld light source.[4]
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All clear (O.K.)
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Flagman directs pilot
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Insertchocks
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Pull chocks
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Start engine (Signaler points at engine to be started.)
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Cut engines
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Proceed straight ahead
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Turn left
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Turn right
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Slow down
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Stop
Helicopter signals
This section's factual accuracy is disputed. (May 2016) |
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Take off
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Land
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Move upward
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Move downward
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Move left
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Move right
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Move forward
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Move rearward
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Hold hover
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Release sling load
References
- ^ a b c U.S. Air Force Flying Operations and Movement on the Ground Archived 2018-01-23 at the Wayback Machine Flight Rules and Procedures. AIR FORCE INSTRUCTION 11-218, 28 October 2011, Incorporating Change 1, 1 November 2012, 89 pp
- ^ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) FAA Webtraining Environment Human Factors Awareness Course, n.d., accessed 7 January 2015.
- ^ International Civil Aviation Organization (July 2005). "Annex 2 - Rules of the Air - Tenth Edition" (PDF). pp. 42–54. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b Federal Aviation Administration (17 June 2021). "Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM)" (PDF). faa.gov. pp. 240–243. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.