B737-800 flight crew reported the aircraft rolled backward 5-10 feet after the ground crew removed t...

Attributes
ACN	1475195
Time
Date	201708
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ATL.Airport
State Reference	GA
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-800
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Parked
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 315
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying First Officer
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 277
Events
Anomaly	Conflict Ground Conflict Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

Agent briefed us that we would be late due to connecting passengers and bag issues. Previously I had observed that the tug was connected to the aircraft and the nose wheels were chocked. At about departure time I chose to release the parking brake to be a 'team' player and give the agent an on time. About 15 minutes later and about 15 minutes after scheduled departure time the jet bridge was pulled.I observed that it seemed to be moving faster than normal and just did not feel right. At that point my first officer stated 'we are rolling back'. I very gently applied the brakes and the aircraft stopped. We probably rolled five to ten feet back. Ground communication was established. I inquired if everyone was ok. They were. We were pulled back towards the jet bridge. We ran our procedures and departed uneventfully.don't remove wheel chocks without letting the flight crew know. Always have the tug brake set.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-800 flight crew reported the aircraft rolled backward 5-10 feet after the ground crew removed the chocks not knowing the Captain had released the brakes without telling anyone.

Narrative: Agent briefed us that we would be late due to connecting passengers and bag issues. Previously I had observed that the tug was connected to the aircraft and the nose wheels were chocked. At about departure time I chose to release the parking brake to be a 'Team' player and give the Agent an on time. About 15 minutes later and about 15 minutes after scheduled departure time the jet bridge was pulled.I observed that it seemed to be moving faster than normal and just did not feel right. At that point my First Officer stated 'we are rolling back'. I very gently applied the brakes and the aircraft stopped. We probably rolled five to ten feet back. Ground communication was established. I inquired if everyone was OK. They were. We were pulled back towards the jet bridge. We ran our procedures and departed uneventfully.Don't remove wheel chocks without letting the Flight Crew know. Always have the tug brake set.

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.

B737-800 flight crew reported the aircraft rolled backward 5-10 feet after the ground crew removed the chocks not knowing the captain had released the brakes without telling anyone.