Two different crews involved reported ramp crew communication failure resulted in another company aircraft being pushed back towards them; stopping extremely close.
Synopsis
Two different crews involved reported ramp crew communication failure resulted in another company aircraft being pushed back towards them; stopping extremely close.
Narrative
It was a busy night in ZZZ with lots of planes calling for push at the same time. We were parked at gate X and were told to push tail South onto taxiway X. We pushed back with no issue. Just after our push; another aircraft at gate Y was told to push North onto taxiway X. We got our engines started; disconnected from the tug; and began our flow. I was reading through the After Start Checklist when my Captain realized the other aircraft was pushing South; right towards us. I thought the ground crew noticed us but they just kept pushing. My CA attempted to get their attention by yelling on the radios but everything was jammed. I suggested flashing our lights; which we did. Luckily; the tug operator stopped before hitting us. Ramp finally got in contact with the crew and told them to pull straight forward; and not to push backwards any further. The tug then continued to push the plane backwards even more. My CA got on the radios again yelling 'Stop!' The tug finally stopped and began pulling the plane forward. Overall; we're estimating their tail got about 10 ft from contacting our windshield. I don't have much more to include in my report. Overall I don't think there's anything we did wrong or anything more we could've done.I've never worked as a ramper and never operated a tug; so my understanding of their procedures is a bit limited. However; it did seem that the ground crew missed some important cues. Even if the flight deck had relayed the wrong information; the wing walkers and tug operator should've known not to continue the pushback into another plane. It seemed that they were all just going through the motions without really recognizing the dangerous situation. This served as a good reminder to always be vigilant and aware of our surroundings; especially in busy places. My Captain did a good job recognizing the situation and doing what he could to stop it.
Second reporter narrative
I called for push from gate Y in ZZZ around XA:00 on DATE (Aircraft Y). Ramp control told us to hold position. They called us back about a minute later and told us we could push to the vehicle road. When we were in the middle of the push to the vehicle road they called us and said to push tail north on the taxiway X line. The Captain relayed this to the tug operator while I started engine #2. When I was monitoring the engine start I noticed the wing walker on the right side of the aircraft running forward and trying to get the attention of the tug operator to tell them to stop because they were pushing us south toward another aircraft that was on the taxiway X line. The other pilots and ramp control also got on the radio to tell us to stop the push so we wouldn't hit the plane behind us. We coordinated with the ground crew and ramp control to pull the plane forward to give the plane behind us enough room to taxi out. I should pay closer attention to which direction we are pushing while I am monitoring the engine start.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.