Definition
All of the equipment used on the ground to service, maintain, and prepare an aircraft for flight. This includes items such as towbars, tugs, wheel chocks, ground power units, air start carts, fuel trucks, hydraulic carts, oxygen servicing units, and maintenance stands.
Plain English
The gear and machines kept on the ground that crews use to look after the aircraft between flights — the things that move it, fuel it, power it, and keep it serviceable.
Context Anchor
Seen on ramps, in hangars, and during preflight or maintenance activity around parked aircraft.
Why Pilots Care
Correct use of this equipment keeps the aircraft safe and on schedule; mistakes can cause delays or safety issues.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as general airport equipment. In aviation use, ground support equipment means the equipment used directly to support an aircraft while it is on the ground.
Example Sentence 1
Before engine start, the line crew removed the wheel chocks and disconnected the ground support equipment from the aircraft.
Example Sentence 2
After fueling, all ground support equipment was cleared from the aircraft before taxi.