I simply cannot begin to tell you how many times I have heard aircraft call for "Push and Start" when they are still boarding passengers. They are usually trying to preempt missing their slot times.
Especially do I remember a British Airways aircraft, which was parked right alongside me, calling for "Push and Start" when he was nowhere near moving. My request to "Push and Start" was refused on the basis that the aircraft alongside had already been cleared!!!!!!!!!!
At that point, I lost my presence of mind and pointed out to ATC that he was still boarding passengers and was still surrounded by vehicles and in no position to push for some considerable time.
After a bit of confusion, I got my clearance.
Some of our promising sciolistic hysterics are screaming "rush, rush, rush". Do they know that the crew involved were rushing? Do they know that the crew had not been on the ground for 12 hours? Of course they don't.
We are told by A4 that BA managed to drag the No.2 pod over the lifting booms of the tug. Were they on a 25 minute turnround? I seriously doubt it.
In my last job we regularly did 20 minute turnrounds without a problem.
This will probably come down to the pin which connects the towbar to the tug being the wrong size/length or whatever. It's not enough to say that you have to check that the towbar is seen to be on the back of the tug by all you perfect specimens out there for I have been to several airfields where the towbar was taken away by the ground crew in one direction and the tug buggered off in the opposite direction (presumably to pick up a new towbar for the next type of aircraft that he is going to push back).
Perhaps some of the uneducated pillocks among you out there don't know that not all towbars fit every type of aircraft.
In the final analysis, we can't see a hell of a lot from the flightdeck and if the man on the headset tells us that we are clear to taxi, then we wish him well, wait until he walks clear and then start to taxi.
If he has chosen to ignore the fact that he has left a Toyota 4x4 underneath the nose (which we can't see) then what the hell do you expect us to do?