United 777 smashes into Lufthansa Airbus in Frankfurt on pushback

[JSMYTHE17]

Best paid pilots in the world ! Well one of them got pushed back off stand on 8 July at Frankurt, starboard aileron / wing went crashing into starboard elevator of Lufthanse Airbus. Both aircraft substantially damaged

Any idea what went wrong !

[iflyboeing747]

JSMYTHE17
..wweeeell - I sense that you indicate it was the pilots fault only..is that correctly sensed..?

Let's just wait and hear what really happened, but let me add, that the responsibility for a safe push-back lies as much at the push-back team as the pilots..

[Flap 5]

Correction to that Captain Skywave. The responsibility outside the aircraft once the pilot has been commanded to release the parking brake is entirely with the man outside on the headset guiding the tug driver. It is not possible for the Captain to see his wing tips or behind the aircraft at this time.

[Girt_bar]

Same thing happened to a UAL744 at Auckland about 6 weeks ago, only it was pushed into a wall. Aircraft flew home with a winglet short.

[iflyboeing747]

Flap 5
..every acpect of our daily operations has a lot of different angles of views.. Where more than two people are involved there will always be a chance of two different opinions..
This is why I always hold open a two way responsibility option..

You are correct in pointing out that the responsibility lies fully with the push-back team - but, there is always the odd situation where e.g. the pilots are informed from apron control over the radio to stop pushing - or whatever other command - and then the responsibility instantly alters to the pilots to stop the push-back team..
This is just one example why I would never be categoric about responsibility, even if its stated in black or white somewhere..
Rest asured that some clever lawyer will always be able to "alter" the text against you..

[fire wall]

JSMYTHE17, quick to point the finger all be it in an cloaked manner. Have you ever been in a flight deck of a 777....bit hard to see the wing tips unless you open the window and poke your head out. Best paid pilots or not...the responsibility of the safe manouvering of the a/c is that of the tug driver when I release the park brake...tho granted sometimes he needs some direction.

[Zeke]

I wonder if it was unlucky enough to be the same aircraft Asiana hit

[27driver]

No matter what these lads are paid, just be glad it didn't happen to YOU! ;)

[ironbutt57]

27driver...didn't happen to the UAL pilots either..happened to the pushback crew...

[CHUUK]

Best paid pilots in the world ! Well one of them got pushed back off stand on 8 July at Frankurt, starboard aileron / wing went crashing into starboard elevator of Lufthanse Airbus. Both aircraft substantially damaged
Any idea what went wrong !

What was this overpaid pilot thinking? Was he too lazy to look in his rearview and sideview mirrors before he put it in reverse and let the clutch out? I mean, anyone could see an Airbus behind them. Maybe he didn't look both ways before pulling out of his space? Maybe his wallet was too thick and it was cocking up his viewing ability? Lovely post JSMYTHE17!

[MrNosy]

What have UA's 777s got against LH?

One of their 777s clumped the tail cone of a LH 747-400 with its wing tip at Dulles Intl about a month ago - stuffed the APU.

No I don't know whose fault it was but LH said they'd been cleared to push by ramp control. :p

[Avman]

I happened to be at FRA when it occurred. Didn't see it though. However, the story I heard was that the United was taxying to runway 18 and the Lufthansa was on tow to maintenance. One thing I'm almost sure about is that the UA was not pushing back at the time.

[fr8box]

Not that it matters,but just to set the record straight, Delta pilots are the highest paid. Their new contract tops United's by around 1%. :)

[Ignition Override]

For those Pprune readers whose only high-performance flying consists of a home computer with joystick: can any of these computer scenarios do a pushback?

If so, how thick are your aircraft operating manuals and flight ops manuals?