B777 flight crew reported a temporary loss of control when they released brakes at the hardstand and the aircraft rolled unexpectedly.
Synopsis
B777 flight crew reported a temporary loss of control when they released brakes at the hardstand and the aircraft rolled unexpectedly.
Narrative
I was acting in the role of line check pilot performing the duties of First Officer from the right seat to a transition Captain on IOE. we were parked at a remote hard stand". We had completed all checklists and the ground crew called the acting Captain for brake release and push. The acting Captain released brakes and told them "brakes released; standby" and I was directed to call for push. I called clearance delivery for "push and engine start" and was directed to call Ground. I called Ground and also asked for "push and engine start" and received the reply of "are you ready to taxi?" I responded "we are ready for push and engine start" and received the reply of "you are cleared to start; call ready for taxi". At this point we; the crew became aware that we would be starting engines from our current position and taxiing straight out; something we did not anticipate; and to be honest caused us some amount of confusion and distraction regarding our engine start and "push" which; as it turns out; we didn't do. We did not realize before this point that we would be taxing out from our parked position. During our preparation and review for departure; we found no mention of starting and taxiing straight out from this spot in any reference pages. I have parked at multiple remote "hard stands" and have never not pushed back… I didn't expect it this time. The acting Captain queried Ground if we would be starting engines in our current position and was told that was what we would be doing. He was under the understanding that Ground had control of the aircraft as they had directed him previously to release the brakes. He then directed me to start the engines; which I did. During engine start we received a brief "Takeoff configuration" warning which caused a fairly large distraction trying to figure out what had caused it to momentarily indicate. We determined it was caused by a N1 indication that "jumped" around momentarily as we initiated start but then acted normally. It was during this time that the ground crew called the Captain to indicate that the aircraft had started moving at which point both the acting Captain and I stepped on the brakes to stop movement. I would estimate movement to possibly be a foot or two. The acting Captain set the brakes; and called below to ascertain if everyone was OK? The ground crew indicated everyone was fine. I had the Captain ask a second time which he did. I think this is truly the point at which we determined that the ground crew did not have control of the aircraft; as there would have been no reason for them to direct us to release the brakes had they not.At this point we completed our start duties and stopped to briefly discuss what had happened. We finished our procedures and taxied out from our current position and departed."
Second reporter narrative
At hardstand XXX ZZZZ. I was the acting Captain on my 4th leg of OE. The Ground crew man called to say they were ready. I replied Standby" as the Before Pushback checklist was not yet completed. After the Before Pushback checklist was completed; I told him "Brakes Released; Standby". He replied "Brakes released; Standby." The acting First Officer (FO) called ATC for pushback clearance. ATC cleared us for engine start. The ground man then said "cleared to start". I acknowledged this and then asked him if we were going to be starting the engines at the hard stand with no pushback. He replied in the affirmative. We had not been told previously that this would be the case. I relayed this to the other pilots. There was adequate room to maneuver the aircraft straight ahead onto the taxiway from the hardstand when the time would come to taxi. I told the acting FO we were cleared to start and he began the start sequence. We were not instructed by the ground man to reset the brakes. Nor were we told prior to brake release that we would be starting engines at the hardstand. In addition; there was no mention in any of the reference or company pages that this was even a possibility.During the start we received a momentary EICAS master warning of Takeoff Configuration. This distraction directed my attention to the EICAS. There was a brief moment where the Right N1 indication jumped up and was erratic during the start; which we determined was the cause of the EICAS warning. A few seconds later the N1 indication was normal and the warning disappeared and the rest of the start was normal. Due to this; I was more head inside than usual during engine start. A few seconds later; the ground man said the aircraft was rolling. I noticed this too and applied immediate manual braking and the aircraft was stopped. I estimate the aircraft moved 2 feet. I had been under the impression that because the ground man had cleared us to start AFTER he acknowledged the release of the brakes that we were under some kind of guidance; either by tug or chocks. This turned out to not be the case. I relayed to the ground man that the brakes were now set and asked if the ground crew was ok and he replied in the affirmative. We completed the start and ran the appropriate checklists and proceeded normally."
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.