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B737-300 captain abruptly applied aircraft brakes after he thought the aircraft had come loose from the tug.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 519400 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200107 |
| Day | Fri |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801 To 2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | airport : lax.airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Altitude | agl single value : 0 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Controlling Facilities | artcc : zab.artcc |
| Operator | common carrier : air carrier |
| Make Model Name | B737-300 |
| Flight Phase | ground : pushback |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Affiliation | company : air carrier |
| Function | flight crew : captain oversight : pic |
| Qualification | pilot : atp |
| Experience | flight time last 90 days : 200 flight time total : 3500 |
| ASRS Report | 519400 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | non adherence : published procedure non adherence : far non adherence : company policies |
| Consequence | other other |
| Supplementary | |
| Problem Areas | Flight Crew Human Performance |
| Primary Problem | Flight Crew Human Performance |
Narrative:
After completing all checklists and following all SOP callouts we started our push from gate in lax. The transition from reverse to forward push was so smooth and subtle that I thought the aircraft had come either unconnected from the tow or was rolling on its own. I applied brakes because I thought I may be rolling into the mechanic. The aircraft jerked and I was questioned by the mechanic as to what happened. I told him I thought we were rolling freely and uncommanded. He said he was still towing us. I asked if he was injured in any way. He said no, but that he wanted to tow us back to the gate to see if there was any damage to the nose gear. No passenger or flight attendants were injured. The mechanic who inspected the nose gear said there was no apparent damage. Since the tow mechanic wrote up the nose gear, maintenance decided to swing the nose gear, to confirm there was no damage. The aircraft was tested and returned to service that night.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: B737-300 CAPT ABRUPTLY APPLIED ACFT BRAKES AFTER HE THOUGHT THE ACFT HAD COME LOOSE FROM THE TUG.
Narrative: AFTER COMPLETING ALL CHKLISTS AND FOLLOWING ALL SOP CALLOUTS WE STARTED OUR PUSH FROM GATE IN LAX. THE TRANSITION FROM REVERSE TO FORWARD PUSH WAS SO SMOOTH AND SUBTLE THAT I THOUGHT THE ACFT HAD COME EITHER UNCONNECTED FROM THE TOW OR WAS ROLLING ON ITS OWN. I APPLIED BRAKES BECAUSE I THOUGHT I MAY BE ROLLING INTO THE MECH. THE ACFT JERKED AND I WAS QUESTIONED BY THE MECH AS TO WHAT HAPPENED. I TOLD HIM I THOUGHT WE WERE ROLLING FREELY AND UNCOMMANDED. HE SAID HE WAS STILL TOWING US. I ASKED IF HE WAS INJURED IN ANY WAY. HE SAID NO, BUT THAT HE WANTED TO TOW US BACK TO THE GATE TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY DAMAGE TO THE NOSE GEAR. NO PAX OR FLT ATTENDANTS WERE INJURED. THE MECH WHO INSPECTED THE NOSE GEAR SAID THERE WAS NO APPARENT DAMAGE. SINCE THE TOW MECH WROTE UP THE NOSE GEAR, MAINT DECIDED TO SWING THE NOSE GEAR, TO CONFIRM THERE WAS NO DAMAGE. THE ACFT WAS TESTED AND RETURNED TO SERVICE THAT NIGHT.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.