B737-700 Captain reported a near miss with a parked aircraft during push back. The Captain stopped the push back crew; disconnected the aircraft; and safely taxied from the ramp.
Synopsis
B737-700 Captain reported a near miss with a parked aircraft during push back. The Captain stopped the push back crew; disconnected the aircraft; and safely taxied from the ramp.
Narrative
I was working Flight XXX ZZZ-ZZZ1 on (date). We were cleared to push from [gate] Y into the alley. The push began and as we started making the turn towards spot I noticed we were being pushed towards several rows of baggage carts that were lined up between [gate] X and [gate] Y. The Wing Walker and the Tug Driver began fixing the push; so I allowed the push to continue. Once we cleared the carts; I noticed that the line for spot was several feet to the right instead of being under the nose wheel. As I looked out my window; I could see that we were being pushed on a bad angle towards the aircraft that was parked at X. I told the Tug Driver to watch the wingtip and that I did not want to hit the other aircraft. We were only a few feet between our left wingtip and the tail of the other aircraft at X.I stopped the push and made the Tug Driver aware of where the spot line was and how far out of position we were and that the push was very unsafe. I asked to be pulled forward and away from the other aircraft and the Tug Driver pushed the aircraft backwards a couple more feet. Again; I stopped the push and requested a Ramp Supervisor to come out to the spot. Once the Supervisor came out and established communication; I determined that instead of using the tug to reposition the aircraft I would turn away from and taxi out on my own. I could clearly see I had enough room to turn away safely and did so and re-positioned the aircraft to the spot.I should have stopped the push much earlier but gave the Driver the benefit of the doubt because they recognized and corrected their first mistake in the push. I believe there needs to be some extra training/certification for the ground crew due to an unsafe push with several errors.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.