MD11 flight crew reported prior to push crew communication and tug connect; wheel chocks were pulled resulted in an uncommanded roll of aircraft.
Synopsis
MD11 flight crew reported prior to push crew communication and tug connect; wheel chocks were pulled resulted in an uncommanded roll of aircraft.
Narrative
At our gate at XB05. Ground Crew removed chocks from aircraft without tug connected or directing crew to set the parking brake. Crew was heads down in the box accomplishing a route change; having completed down to the line on the before start checklist before receiving the new clearance at XA57. Both crew members started to feel as if aircraft was moving and looked up to see significant rearward movement. First Officer (FO) immediately called on inter phone to stop as both Captain and FO slammed on the brakes. No communication was ever made with the pilots by the ground crew. After pilots brought the aircraft to a stop 25 ft. from where it had been initially parked; they noticed the 2 Ground Crew slowly meandering in different directions with no apparent sense of urgency to the potential disaster that had just occurred. When queried why we were out of position; the response was something to the effect of; yeah I noticed it started rolling after I pulled the chocks. It is a series of lucky miracles that no one was killed; no aircraft/vehicles were behind the jet; and that the down sloping parking spot coupled with the light gross weight jet with an extremely aft CG didn't cause it to stand on its tail. Ramp Tower; Dispatch; Supervisor notified.Cause: Ground Crew deviation from required safety protocols.Suggestions: Retraining of ground crew.
Second reporter narrative
First Officer (FO) and myself showed up to our gate. Exterior safety check was completed as per flight manual: the proper wheels were chocked nose tether was in place and the tug was in front of aircraft but not connected. We finished all the paperwork and checklist items so the FO went to close the crew entrance doors. I called for the beacon and beacon was approved. At XA57 we received a route clearance change so the FO and I were heads down inputting the change into the FMS. We felt the aircraft move and as we looked up the aircraft was moving and the tug was still parked. By the time I stepped on the brakes we had rolled 20-30 ft. There was NO communication from the push crew prior to aircraft moving and they removed the chocks prior to engaging the tug with the aircraft nose gear. When push crew finally came onto intercom they said the aircraft didn't start moving until they pulled the chocks. No damage was noted and after a few minutes we continued the push and start. Ramp Tower was notified of the incident. I asked that the video tapes be pulled but they were unable to honor our request. We were lucky not to hit anything or injure any ground personnel and with a large aft CG that we didn't put the aircraft on its tail when brakes were applied to stop the rolling. Cause: Push crew pulled the chocks without the tug being connected to the aircraft so the aircraft rolled 20-30 ft. No communication was established with the fight crew.Suggestions: Push crew needs to be trained. They said that we should have had the parking brake set but that is not procedure in this push back situation. There was no sense of urgency from the push crew after the aircraft moved.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.