Truck blocking the gate

극적인 비상은 아니지만, 시험에서 자주 나오는 "일상 지상 문제"입니다. 포인트는 두 가지 — 막히면 멈추고 새 지시를 요청할 것, 그리고 기다리더라도 기한을 정할 것. 문법은 선택지를 깔끔하게 말하는 either…or입니다.

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1. Scenario

I was the First Officer of HL123, taxiing in after landing, assigned to stand 24.

As we turned onto the stand taxilane, we saw the problem: a catering truck was parked right across the lead-in line, with no driver in sight. We stopped well clear on the taxilane and told apron control, "HL123, holding short of stand 24 — there's a catering truck across the lead-in line, and it looks unattended. Request instructions."

Apron control came back with honest options: they were trying to locate the driver, which might take up to ten minutes, or we could either wait or take stand 22 next door — open, but with no jet bridge, so our passengers would go down the stairs and onto buses.

We weighed it with the engines idling and fuel burning. We answered: we would wait five minutes; if the truck had not been moved by then, we would take stand 22. Apron accepted the plan and kept the updates coming — driver located, truck moving — and about three minutes later the lead-in line was free.

We parked normally on stand 24. Waiting is fine, as long as waiting has a deadline.

2. At a Glance

English — Assigned to stand 24, we found a catering truck parked across the lead-in line with no driver in sight. We stopped clear on the taxilane, reported it, and asked for instructions. Apron gave us honest options — wait up to ten minutes while they located the driver, or take stand 22 with no jet bridge. We chose to wait, but with a limit: five minutes, then stand 22. Updates kept coming, the driver was found, and we parked three minutes later. Two lessons: a blocked stand is apron's problem to solve, but your decision to make — and a wait without a deadline is not a plan.

한국어 — 스탠드 24 배정을 받고 들어가는데, 케이터링 트럭이 리드인 라인을 가로질러 주차돼 있었고 운전자는 보이지 않았습니다. 택시레인에 여유 있게 멈춰 보고하고 지시를 요청했어요. 애프런은 솔직한 선택지를 줬습니다 — 운전자 수배까지 최대 10분 대기, 또는 브릿지 없는 옆 스탠드 22(계단+버스 하기). 우리는 기다리되 기한을 걸었습니다 — 5분, 그 후엔 22번. 업데이트가 계속 왔고, 운전자가 찾아져 3분 만에 정상 주기했습니다. 교훈 둘 — 막힌 스탠드를 푸는 건 애프런의 일이지만, 결정은 조종사의 몫 — 그리고 기한 없는 대기는 계획이 아니다.

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3. Key Verbs

assign

뜻: 배정하다

• We were assigned to stand 24.
• A different stand can be assigned when yours is blocked.

park

뜻: 주차하다, 주기하다

• A catering truck was parked across the lead-in line.
• We parked normally once the line was free.

obstruct

뜻: 가로막다

• The truck obstructed the entrance to the stand.
• An obstructed stand must never be entered.

locate

뜻: (사람·물건을) 찾아내다

• Apron was trying to locate the driver.
• The driver was located within a few minutes.

weigh

뜻: (선택지를) 저울질하다

• We weighed the options with the engines idling.
• Waiting and switching stands were weighed against each other.

opt

뜻: 택하다

• We opted to wait, with a time limit.
• Some crews would have opted for stand 22 straight away.

move

뜻: 옮기다

• The truck was moved off the lead-in line.
• Nothing moved until the driver was found.

idle

뜻: (엔진이) 공회전하다

• The engines were idling while we waited.
• Every minute idling is fuel burned for nothing.

update

뜻: 상황을 알려주다

• Apron updated us every minute or so.
• We were updated the moment the driver was found.

free

뜻: (막힌 것을) 비우다, 풀다

• The lead-in line was freed after three minutes.
• Stand 24 was freed and we taxied in.

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4. Key Expressions & Collocations

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5. Vocabulary

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6. Sentence Frames

빈칸만 갈아끼우면 다른 지상 대기·선택 시나리오에도 그대로 씁니다.

• We were assigned to ____, but ____ was blocking ____. → We were assigned to stand 24, but a truck was blocking the lead-in line.
• We stopped well clear and requested ____. → We stopped well clear and requested instructions.
• We could either ____ or ____. → We could either wait for the truck or take stand 22.
• We decided to ____, but only for ____ — after that, ____. → We decided to wait, but only for five minutes — after that, we would take stand 22.
• ____ kept the updates coming until ____. → Apron kept the updates coming until the stand was free.

오늘의 표현 포인트 — "We decided to ____, but only for ____ — after that, ____." 기다림에 기한과 플랜 B를 붙이는 틀 — 수동적 대기를 능동적 판단으로 바꿔 줍니다.

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7. Common Mistakes → Better Phrasing

한국인이 자주 쓰는 틀리거나 약한 표현을, 시험에서 통하는 표현으로 바꿔 익히세요.

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8. Grammar Point — either … or (선택)

두 갈래 선택을 한 문장으로 또렷하게 만드는 틀입니다. 판단을 설명하는 Q1·Q2 모두에서 유용해요.

• We could either wait for the truck or take stand 22.
• Either the driver moves it, or we change stands.
• It was either ten minutes of fuel or buses for the passengers.

핵심: either A or B — A와 B는 같은 꼴(동사면 동사, 명사면 명사)로 맞춰 주세요. 선택지가 대등하게 들려야 판단이 선명해집니다.

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9. Model Answer — Q1

"What happened to your aircraft? Explain the nature of the incident."

틀은 자유 — 무슨 일 → 어떻게 대처 → 결과 흐름이면 됩니다.

We were taxiing in after landing, assigned to stand 24. As we turned onto the stand taxilane, we saw a catering truck parked right across the lead-in line, with no driver in sight.

We stopped well clear on the taxilane and reported it to apron control — a truck across the lead-in line, apparently unattended — and requested instructions. They were honest with us: locating the driver might take up to ten minutes, so we could either wait or take stand 22 next door, which was open but had no jet bridge.

With the engines idling and fuel burning, we weighed it and gave them a plan instead of just sitting there: we would wait five minutes, and if the truck had not been moved by then, we would take stand 22. Apron accepted that and kept the updates coming — driver located, truck moving — and about three minutes later the lead-in line was free.

We parked normally on stand 24 and the passengers never knew there had been a problem. Waiting is fine, as long as waiting has a deadline.

10. Model Answer — Q2

"How do you think ATC handled the situation? Could it have been handled differently?"

Q2 = ATC 평가로 의견 표현을 익히는 자리. 아래는 한 예시 — 외워서 그대로 쓰지 말고, 시작·마무리 표현은 자유롭게 바꿔 보세요.

It was a small problem, and it stayed small — that is the praise. What apron control did well was treat us like part of the decision: instead of a bare "standby", we got the real picture — up to ten minutes for the driver, stand 22 available but with no jet bridge — which let us set our own limit. And once we gave them the five-minute plan, they matched it, feeding us updates so the deadline never had to guess. Honest options plus steady updates is exactly what a crew needs when the clock is burning fuel.

The part worth fixing happened before we ever arrived: a service vehicle should never be left unattended across the lead-in line of a stand that is expecting an aircraft. A quick stand check before an arrival is marked in — thirty seconds for the handling agent — would have caught the truck while it still cost nothing. The response deserved good marks; the prevention is where the marks were lost.

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11. Follow-up Q&A

1. Why did you stop so far back instead of pulling closer to the stand? → Room to maneuver. Close in, you are committed; from the taxilane we could still go either way — wait, or turn away to stand 22.
2. Why put a time limit on the wait? → An open-ended wait burns fuel and decides nothing. A limit turns "hoping" into a plan with a built-in plan B.
3. Who actually moves the truck? → The handling agent, under apron control's authority. Our job is to report, hold clear, and decide what we do — not to direct vehicles.
4. What would have made you take stand 22 immediately? → A longer or vaguer estimate, low fuel, or a curfew ahead. The moment the wait costs more than the buses, the choice makes itself.

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12. Shadowing Sentences

각 문장을 3~5번 소리 내어 따라 하세요.

1. We were assigned to stand 24 after landing.
2. A catering truck was parked across the lead-in line.
3. The truck looked unattended — no driver in sight.
4. We stopped well clear and requested instructions.
5. We could either wait or take stand 22 next door.
6. Stand 22 was open, but it had no jet bridge.
7. We decided to wait, but only for five minutes.
8. Apron kept the updates coming while we waited.
9. The driver was located, and the lead-in line was freed.
10. Waiting is fine, as long as waiting has a deadline.

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다 읽었으면, 위 문장 구조 몇 개를 골라 30초만 직접 말해보세요. 화면에서 녹음하고 ICAO 6영역 채점을 받아보고 싶다면 EPTA Coach에서 1회차를 무료로 열어둡니다.