UA 777 too heavy for two tugs

[krautland]

You Tube

Wonder if this happens frequently?

[Equivocal]

Not helped by the contamination on the stand.

[EEngr]

Yes. I'm also surprised that these tugs aren't all wheel drive. Or at least driven by the wheels under their engine compartment.

[Longtimer]

no worse than during winter conditions. Perhaps more due to a lack of tread on the drive wheels.

[Opsbeatch]

Should read "Wrong tug used to pushback 777"

[EEngr]

Meanwhile, in Russia ...

[surely not]

Spot on. The ground services guys have made a basic error here

[Check Airman]

So the first tug was just pushing the second one? If I haven't seen it all, I must be getting mighty close.

[TURIN]

Wow, there is so much going wrong here it's hard to know where to begin! Talk about amateur night.

[tdracer]

During flight tests of the 747-8F, they were operating one aircraft out of Victorville. They put the 747 in a hangar to do some work, when it came time to move it back out the first tug wasn't powerful enough to move it, so they parked that tug outside the hangar at got a bigger one. Except that they didn't move the first tug far enough - as they pulled the 747 out of the hangar, one of the engine nacelles struck the first tug...

[Fewdoom]

That's the transmission smoking not the tires.

[Deltasierra010]

Those tugs are supposed to be 4wd and 4 wheel steer, ballasted they can easily do the job

[crunchynutter]

What seems to be just as shocking is the traffic passing behind a moving aircraft with anti cols on.

[CaptainMongo]

It is a push which starts and ends in the non movement area.

[NutLoose]

That’s all well and good flooring it and wheel spinning the tug, right up until it suddenly finds some grip.

[WillFlyForCheese]

Two tugs? The second was a baggage cart tug . . .

[Bksmithca]

If it was the transmission there wouldn't be tread marks on the tarmac.

[CV880]

Used to have trouble pushing back 747's at Kai Tak. The problem was the slopes built into the ramp area presumably for drainage in tropical downpours and built long before pushbacks were required. A 747 rolled back about 15-20 feet to the low point before the main gear ran onto the upward slope to the crown of the taxiway which required some serious grunt from the tug and a driver who kept the tow bar dead straight until the main gear neared the crest of the taxiway. On a wet ramp slick with oily droppings it was a real problem and there were many incidents. It wasn't a tug power problem it was a lack of traction. I had a NWA 747 jackknife the tug and tow bar one morning after starting all 4 engines at the gate. No damage to the aircraft but a damaged tow bar a big hassle getting the tow bar unhitched from the tug at 90 degrees to the tow bar.. Eventually the airport authority cleaned the areas the tugs drove on and laid down an antiskid finish. Also I think it was required that engines be started on push back not beforehand.

[stilton]

Don’t think the baggage tug added much..

[NutLoose]

Fewdoom

Nope, it’s the tyres, hence the dirty great black rubber tyre tracks on the ground as the tug moves forward.