DURING TAXI AND PUSH BACK; TWO AIR CARRIERS STOP PRIOR TO CONTACT.

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ON MAY/WED/02 AN ACR Y A330 AND AN ACR X B777 NEARLY COLLIDED AT THE INTXN OF TXWY ZULU AND DELTA AT DULLES ARPT. THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS ARE AS FOLLOWS: AT APPROX XA:49 LOCAL TIME; ACR Y CALLED THE RAMP CTLR FOR A PUSH OFF GATE AND WAS HELD DUE TO TFC STACKED UP DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM WAITING TO EXIT AND THE NEED TO COORDINATE WITH THE FAA GND CTLR FOR A PUSH CLRNC ONTO ADJACENT TXWY 'ZULU'. WHEN THE TFC DIRECTLY BEHIND HAD EXITED; THE RAMP CTLR CALLED THE FAA TWR TO COORDINATE THE PUSH ONTO 'ZULU' TXWY AND ALSO TO COORDINATE THE EXIT OF ACR X; B777; TO EXIT AT SPOT ON 'CHARLIE' TAXI LANE SO THAT ACR Y COULD PUSH ONTO 'DELTA' WITH HIS TAIL INTO 'ZULU' TXWY. THE RESPONSE FROM THE TWR COORDINATOR WAS 'YOU GOT IT I'LL TELL HIM'. THE RAMP CTLR THEN MOVED THE ACR X B777; OVER TO 'CHARLIE' TAXI LANE TO EXIT AT SPOT AND SWITCHED HIM TO THE FAA GND FREQ AND AT THE SAME TIME TELLING THE PLT OF THE PENDING PUSH OFF. ACR Y WAS THEN GIVEN HIS PUSH CLRNC. DURING THE PUSH SEQUENCE; ANOTHER CALL TO THE GND CTLR WAS MADE IN THE BLIND; ON THE COORDINATION LINE; TO REMIND HIM THAT WE ARE PUSHING OFF. A SHORT TIME LATER ACR Y STARTED HIS PUSH AND CAME BACK FROM HIS GATE WITH HIS TAIL MOVING TOWARDS 'ZULU' TXWY. APPROX THE SAME TIME THE GND CTLR TURNED ACR X SOUTHBOUND ON 'ZULU'. THE TUG CREW OBSERVED THE PENDING CONFLICT AND STOPPED THE PUSH; NARROWLY MISSING CONTACT WITH THE LEFT WING OF THE B777; WHO HAD TURNED S. THE FAA GND CTLR WAS EXTREMELY BUSY AT THAT TIME OF THE EVENING WORKING ALL THE SCHEDULED FLTS PLUS AN EXTRAORDINARY AMOUNT OF GENERAL AVIATION ACFT THAT ARE NOW OPERATING OUT OF DULLES DUE TO THE RESTRICTIONS OF THESE FLTS AT DCA. APPARENTLY HE WAS SO FAR DOWN THE 'TUBE' THAT HE FORGOT OR WAS NEVER MADE AWARE OF THE PUSH OFF THE GATE ONTO 'ZULU'. THE INCIDENT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF THE PERSON IN THE FAA TWR HAD FULLY COORDINATED WITH THE GND CTLR AS TO WHAT HE HAD JUST APPROVED. APPARENTLY THIS WAS NOT DONE. ALSO; I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT THE CAPT OF THAT B777 WOULD ACCEPT THE TURN S ON 'ZULU' AFTER HE HAD BEEN TOLD BY THE RAMP CTLR THAT THE A330 WAS PUSHING OFF THE END GATE ONTO THE VERY SAME TXWY.