Push back
 

Something that I've often wondered... how do the push back crews know where to be and when? Does the flight crew call them prior to being ready?

Many thanks.

Well all departures have a Scheduled Time of Departure (STD), which obviously the operating crew will know, but also the ground handling agent; who provide the pushback tug and ground crew. They usually turn up with anywhere between 15 and 5 minutes before pushback, depending on how busy they are, and connect a headset to the aircraft in order to communicate with us in the flightdeck. Failing that you can revert to standard hand signals in order to communicate with the ground crew before, during and after the pushback.

Hope this helps

Atreyu:ok:

That makes sense, cheers!

And there was me thinking they had a crystal ball in the office

When you are taxiing into a gate, there is a guy waiving what look like two table tennis bats (I imagine that is not their proper name) so you know when to stop. The pilots are in full control of the aircraft's movement.

But what happens on a push-back? There, the pilots have less ability to control the aircraft's movement because you are being pushed, right?

So, if you need to stop immediately to avoid a collision with an aircraft/truck that only the ground crew can see, is it the ground crew who are responsible for stopping the aircraft? Or are the flight deck crew still responsible for avoiding a prang during push-back?

The crew of course, havent you seen those large retractable wing mirrors that are deployed on pushback so the capt can see behind the aircraft

Ha ha, very funny. The push-back crew have the control and responsibility. Having said that, if ATC request that the push-back be stopped, it is normally the flight-crew who get the message, and pass it to the tug driver. At some airfields the tug is in direct contact with ATC. During the push the crew don't touch the brakes. A brake application would, at best break the weak link in the towbar, at worst caue damage to the nose leg.

Thanks Herod and SNS3Guppy.

It must be a bit disconcerting sitting at the pointy end but having such little control of a huge aircraft like the 747! I suppose that is why you need well-trained ground crew who know exactly what they are doing.

Do the crew help steer around corners from the flight deck also on smaller aircraft such as the 737 or A320? Can the same tug push/pull a B737 and a B777 (for example) or do you need more powerful tugs for heavier aircraft?

No nicholas they dont, the NWS is disconected by the ground crew during push back , next time you have your nose pressed against the window if your really lucky and on the LH side you might see one of the push back guys waving to the capt, however hes not really waving like you might do, he is showing the capt the NWS lockout pin has been removed

Nicholas49 , you would need a different type of tug , if say you go from a 737 to a A380 , and vice versa , turning up with a 70 ton tug on a 737 tends to get wagging fingers := from the Flight deck .

CF16 BHX-GOT last Thursday morning.

"This is your captain XYZ. We apologise for the small delay caused by an aircraft behind us, but push back will commence within five or ten minutes"... Followed a nanosecond later by the commencement of pushback!

I felt for the captain!

"there is a guy waiving what look like two table tennis bats (I imagine that is not their proper name)"

Nicholas49. The extremly technical term term used is.........Bats or Wands:\

In reply to the original question. I some times have to do the headset on push backs. I sit in my van by the nose gear with my headset on and connected. Once all is closed up I wait till the crew call me and tell me they are ready for push. Mostly the call by voice but some times the use the ground crew call horn. The trick with this is to reply before they take their finger off the button!!!!:E:E It makes them jump.

Rgds Dr I

Isn't that the air traffic controller...?
;)

Sorry if this is hijacking the thread, but i was on a thomson 757 on a flight out of bristol (EGGD) over the summer.
Everything was normal until we pushed back, but then as the crew started the engines, the aircraft started to move forward, until the crew noticed, and hit the brakes

We were then told that we had to wait for engineers to come to look at the landing gear, before 40 minutes of sticking out and blocking bristols main taxiway we left.

I still have no idea what happed, can anybod elaborate?

Bolli

What usualy happens in that situation is that either the aicraft brakes were not set and it rolls forward onto the towbar, or the tug drivers right foot is a bit heavy and reverses away before the tow pin has been removed. Its is meant to be controlled so that the headset man can remove it before the tug is reversed completley away. probably the first scenario id would say though

sorry, i shouldh ave mad it more clear. The engines were being started as we were being pushed back. the tug should still have been connected.

Bolli