This study examined 182 ramp operations incident reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System ( ASRS ) database , to determine which factors influence ramp operation incidents . It was found that incidents occurred more often during aircraft arrival operations than during departure operations ; incidents occurred most often at the gate stop area , less so at the gate entry / exit areas , and least on the ramp fringe areas ; and reporters cited fewer incidents when more ground crew were present . The authors offer suggestions for both airline management and flight crews to reduce the rate of ramp incidents .