Incident Overview
On 30 September 2012, an incident occurred at Warsaw Chopin Airport (EPWA) involving a Boeing 737-400 aircraft. The event took place after the completion of scheduled ground handling operations.
Sequence of Events
The flight coordinator for the aircraft at parking stand 20 received clearance to push back onto taxiway M. The clearance included a restriction for a "short push" due to a concurrent pushback clearance granted for an aircraft at the adjacent stand 19. Simultaneously, another aircraft was being pushed back from stand 22 onto the same taxiway.
As a result of the nearly simultaneous pushbacks, the distance between the aircraft being pushed from stand 22 and the aircraft being pushed from stand 20 decreased to less than the width of one parking stand. After the aircraft from stand 22 started its engines, the flight coordinator of the aircraft from stand 20 found himself in the area affected by the exhaust gases.
Responsibilities and Contributing Factors
The flight coordinator and the tug driver are responsible for conducting a safe pushback process. Their duties are clearly defined: the flight coordinator maintains constant communication with the flight crew and monitors the area around the aircraft for obstacles, while the tug driver focuses on correctly positioning the aircraft, including avoiding excessive nose gear steering angles. Due to these tasks, they have limited ability to influence other traffic in the maneuvering area.
The air traffic control unit, which possesses the appropriate tools and authority, is responsible for issuing pushback clearances and specifying how they are to be executed. In this case, clearances for almost simultaneous pushbacks from adjacent stands were issued.
Stated Cause
The incident was caused by the issuance of clearances for nearly simultaneous pushbacks of aircraft from adjacent parking stands, which after engine start led to a ground handling worker being in the zone affected by exhaust gases.
Preventive Measures
The event was discussed with personnel to raise awareness of safety hazards. No safety recommendations were formulated by the investigation commission.