Push back and start procedures
Hi all.
A question for any commercial pilots familiar with the Boeing 737-300
or similar variant (733,734,737,738)
I am just trying to clarify something in relation to pushback and start procedures.
From what I believed to be the case, and from the Civil Aviation Authority ("CAA") guidance that I can find on 'Airside Safety Management' (Sep 2006 [online]) it says that normally the pushback procedure occurs when the aircraft is fuelled and passengers have embarked, I seem to recall this even as a passenger that pushback begins roughly at the same time as engine start. I.e. even as a layperson you can hear the engines spooling up (for example) whilst the aircraft is moving backwards.
Alternately that if no pushback is required, the aircraft for example is in a position where it is able to taxi from its current position, would the passengers have already embarked before start procedures begin?
My questions:-
1) Generally speaking, are the above pushback situations above correct?
2) Are the pushback procedures at Reus, Spain (ICAO: LERS) different than the usual procedures above? - I have looked at the various charts and I am not able to find anything specific on pushback procedures and no indication of anything different to the standard procedures?;
3) Are there any occasions that pushback (but not start) will have been complete before the passengers embark?
4) Finally, in considering all of the above - I am presuming from my simulator use as a layperson that any faults with the bleed air system could only be identified when the aircraft has either ground power activated (presuming there is a ground power attached and available) or when APU is started and the battery is on so that systems can be available and checked? - what I am getting at here is that, it would not be possible to identify a fault of the above kind when the aircraft is in a cold and dark state?
Kind Regards all