Pushback

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Contents 1 Description 2 The Procedure 3 The key threat to aircraft safety 4 Risk Management 5 Further Reading

Description

The movement of an aircraft off a nose in parking stand using the power of a specialised ground vehicle attached to or supporting the nose landing gear. It is commonly the second part of a ‘Taxi In Push Out’ (TIPO) procedure at airport terminal gates and will be necessary to depart from all except self manoeuvring parking stands unless the aircraft type is capable of powerback and local procedures allow this. Occasionally, a pushback may need to be followed by an engines-running pull forward to a position where local procedures allow aircraft to move forward under their own power, but usually, ground vehicle disconnection will occur after the completion of a pushback.

The Procedure

Once the aircraft commander (or other person in charge on the flight deck if the aircraft` is not in service) has given their confirmation of ‘brakes released’ to the person in charge of the ground crew who are to carry out the pushback, the ground crew become temporarily responsible for the safe manoeuvring of the aircraft in accordance with either promulgated standard procedures or as specifically agreed beforehand.

Unless the manoeuvre is taking place outside the movement area controlled by ATC, an RTF clearance to carry it out will be required. Usually but not always, this will be obtained by the aircraft commander or other person in charge in the flight deck. The prescribed RTF phraseology for pushback is contained in ICAO PANS-ATM.

Formerly, almost all aircraft types required that the ground locking pin be installed in the nose landing gear during any pushback but this is now no longer always the case. If a ground locking pin is installed for the pushback, it will need to be removed after the completion of the ground vehicle manoeuvre if the aircraft has been pushed back prior to intended flight.

The ‘traditional’ method of allowing the ground vehicle to move an aircraft is to attach it to the aircraft nose landing gear by means of a towbar. These must be approved for use with a particular aircraft type and clearly marked as such since there is no universal towbar specification. The same towbar attachment and ground vehicle may also be used for Aircraft Towing in the forward direction. An alternative method which is becoming more common for pushback is the use of a specialised vehicle called a ‘towbarless tug’. This positions two low level ‘arms’ either side of the aircraft nose landing gear and these are used to engage with the aircraft gear leg and raise it slightly off the ground. These specialised vehicles can also be used to tow aircraft forward,

Both pushback methods are subject to the observance of any aircraft limits for maximum nose landing gear steering angle, but these are not usually especially restrictive.

The responsibilities of the ground crew team carrying out a pushback include ensuring that no part of the aircraft structure will impact any fixed object or other aircraft and may include giving clearance to start one or more engines just before, during or immediately after a pushback. The number of people assigned to a ground crew team for a pushback will sometimes vary according to aircraft size but in most cases will be at least three. One will be driving the pushback vehicle, one will be walking in the vicinity of one of the aircraft wingtips and looking beyond the aircraft tail and one will be in charge of the manoeuvre and in communication with the person with aircraft responsibility in the flight deck. Communication between the ground crew supervisor is usually by means of a plug in to an aircraft ground intercom circuit and if so is facilitated by a ground crew microphone which acquires the voice of the user whilst excluding background noise, which if the aircraft engines are running can be considerable. If only two ground crew are used for pushback of a smaller aircraft then it is important that the procedure takes full account of the roles of each ground crew and that the person in charge of ground crew communications on the flight deck is aware of the number of ground crew being used and the physical location of the supervisor.

Effective communication between the person in charge in the flight deck and the person in charge of the ground crew and between the members of the ground crew team is self-evidently critical. If the aircraft is being pushed back prior to intended flight and the person in charge of the flight deck is therefore an aircraft commander, the procedures of the aircraft operator may require that the designated Pilot Flying, who may be the co pilot, should oversee the pushback and in this case all communications with the ground crew will be undertaken by that person rather than necessarily by the aircraft commander. If it is considered that communication by hand signals rather than intercom is acceptable then it is essential that the applicable procedures are comprehensive and thoroughly understood by both parties and that they cover all possible abnormal and emergency circumstances.

The case of engines-running pull forward as a supplementary action prior to ground vehicle disconnection after a pushback should be considered as part of the pushback procedure and trained accordingly since it bears little practical resemblance to the towing for longer distances of empty out of service with engines stopped.

Engine Starts may be routinely accomplished immediately before or during pushback. Where they are carried out when the aircraft is moving, it is essential that the ground crew supervisor does not allow the checks and communication required in connection with engine starting to interfere with their primary responsibility to control the pushback and remain in full communication with those on the flight deck using the means available. Many aircraft operators require that when push back is accomplished without headset communications, engine starts do not take place whilst the aircraft is being pushed, preferring instead to require that engine starting takes place before or after completion of the pushback. Observations of abnormal circumstances in connection with engine starts or any other matter affecting, or potentially affecting, the safety of the aircraft during a pushback are of great importance to those on the flight deck but it is essential that any descriptions of external observations during engine starts are imparted accurately, which may sometimes be demanding via ground intercom but can often be extremely difficult with only hand signals available.

The key threat to aircraft safety

Damage caused to either the aircraft on pushback or to another aircraft by the aircraft on pushback which is not identified and technically assessed before that aircraft flies. It is important to recognise that when part of one aircraft impacts part of another aircraft, the degree of resultant damage may vary between negligible and major, even if the aircraft are identical. Ground Crews, especially those not employed directly by the aircraft operator and those who do not speak fluently the same language as that used by those persons on the flight deck for operational communications, must be effectively briefed.

Risk Management

The evidence of accidents and incidents is that there are a number of recurrent features of aircraft damage during pushback:

• Hand signal rather than intercom communication
• Lack of intercom clarity in comms between aircraft and ground crew supervisor
• Ground crew totalling less than three people
• Departure from non-airbridge gates
• Failure of vehicle driver to maintain adequate communication with supervisor
• Lack of clearance between horizontal stabilisers of adjacent ‘T’ tail aircraft
• Pushback commenced from a parking position contrary to that marked
• Ground crew poorly trained or unfamiliar with the immediate pushback environment.
• Unserviceable towbars attributable to lack of ownership clarity
• Surface contamination obscuring pavement markings

Further Reading

• ICAO Doc 444 PANS-ATM Chapter 12.3.4.4

• Accidents: Ground Operations:
  • ATP, Jersey Channel Islands, 1998 (GND HF)
  • B742, Stockholm Arlanda Sweden, 2007 (GND HF)
  • A388, Changi Singapore, 2008 (GND HF)
  • RJ85 / RJ1H, London City Airport, London UK, 2008 (GND HF)
  • JS41, Birmingham UK, 2007 (GND HF)
  • A320, London Heathrow UK, 2006 (GND HF)
  • B763, Luton UK, 2005 (GND)
  • MD82 / MD11, Anchorage AK USA, 2002 (GND HF)
  • B772 / A321, London Heathrow UK, 2007 (GND HF)
  • CRJ7 / CRJ2, Charlotte NC USA, 2008 (GND HF)