Narrative:

Pushback tug lost traction; jackknifed; and struck number 1 engine inlet. During my preflight inspection I noted that the ramp area around the aircraft was wet; but not slick. Pushback commenced normally from the gate and the ground crew gave the cleared to start instruction. After number 1 engine start and as the number 2 engine start began the ground crew said over the intercom 'the pushback failed.' about 2 seconds later the ground crew advised 'set brakes!' followed by 'shutdown engines!' the aircraft stopped about 50 yards away from [our departure] gate. The ground crew then stated that during pushback the tug hit a patch of ice and slid into the number 1 engine resulting in a dent to the inlet. Operations responded as well as the air field rescue and fire fighters. In discussion with the arff captain via intercom there was some concern that perhaps the nose gear had been turned past the tow limit and that there could be damage to the nose gear as well. Rather than risk further damage to or possible failure of the nose gear it was decided to deplane the passengers through the 1R door via air stairs onto the ramp. Airport operations sanded the ramp and passengers deplaned via the ramp to the terminal without incident.apparently the ground crew failed in its assessment of ramp conditions and gave the start engines clearance prematurely. Also; attempting to turn the aircraft during pushback on a slick ramp may have contributed to the loss of traction.better training for pushback crews.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A319 nose wheel turned beyond the steering limit and the tug struck the Number 1 Engine inlet when the Tug Driver lost control on an icy patch some distance beyond the gate during pushback.

Narrative: Pushback tug lost traction; jackknifed; and struck Number 1 Engine inlet. During my preflight inspection I noted that the ramp area around the aircraft was wet; but not slick. Pushback commenced normally from the gate and the ground crew gave the cleared to start instruction. After Number 1 Engine start and as the Number 2 Engine start began the ground crew said over the intercom 'The pushback failed.' About 2 seconds later the ground crew advised 'Set Brakes!' followed by 'Shutdown engines!' The aircraft stopped about 50 yards away from [our departure] gate. The ground crew then stated that during pushback the tug hit a patch of ice and slid into the Number 1 Engine resulting in a dent to the inlet. Operations responded as well as the Air Field Rescue and Fire Fighters. In discussion with the ARFF Captain via intercom there was some concern that perhaps the nose gear had been turned past the tow limit and that there could be damage to the nose gear as well. Rather than risk further damage to or possible failure of the nose gear it was decided to deplane the passengers through the 1R door via air stairs onto the ramp. Airport Operations sanded the ramp and passengers deplaned via the ramp to the terminal without incident.Apparently the ground crew failed in its assessment of ramp conditions and gave the start engines clearance prematurely. Also; attempting to turn the aircraft during pushback on a slick ramp may have contributed to the loss of traction.Better training for pushback crews.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.