B757 Flight Crew reports being cleared for push back by Ramp Control; only to be countermanded by the maintenance taxi crew of the aircraft passing behind them. Non standard phraseology is used causing some confusion for the reporters.
Synopsis
B757 Flight Crew reports being cleared for push back by Ramp Control; only to be countermanded by the maintenance taxi crew of the aircraft passing behind them. Non standard phraseology is used causing some confusion for the reporters.
Narrative
I made as standard pushback clearance call and there was a slight delay; but then I received a clearance. I repeated the clearance back carefully; but immediately heard non-standard communication on freq that was confusing and could have been mistaken for bleed through or a switchology error. I then realized someone was questioning our pushback clearance on the ramp frequency; and then distinctly heard; 'Don't Push; Don't Push.' I relayed this to the Cap't. To my recollection I again asked if we were cleared to push; and thought I heard another positive pushback clearance from the ramp controller. But again it was immediately followed by non-standard transmissions from another party and used words such as; 'What are you stupid?'; and also words that questioned the controller's qualifications such as; 'How can you be qualified to be a tower controller?'. These are not direct quotes; I just want to establish the tone in my report. I asked them 'who' they were and the response was 'Maintenance Delivery.' Once I acquired a visual on the aircraft; and they were at the gate; we again requested clearance for pushback; which was granted. An uneventful pushback was accomplished. At NO time were the brakes ever released prior to this because of the confusion of the situation. Also; the Cap't asked his tug driver if the aircraft behind us was in sight earlier; and he stated that it was. Not entirely related to this incident; I believe the Captain should ALWAYS be the party getting the PB clearance directly. I realize there are safety issues involved with the tug driver; but in my opinion; these are not as significant as the importance of getting a correct clearance. At a minimum; the Captain should at least MONITOR the receipt of the PB clearance directly from ATC. This avoids the long chain of controller; to F/O; to Capt; to tug driver sequence for receipt of clearance.
Second reporter narrative
When First Officer called for pushback; I heard him repeat back to the ramp controller 'OK; cleared to push to the south line'; then he got a questioning look on his face and told me to NOT push. I had not yet even told the tug operator anything; and the brakes were still set. The First Officer then asked the ramp controller if he could confirm that we were actually cleared to push; and after listening to the response; the First Officer told me that I should listen to the ramp frequency. When I raised the volume to do that on my radio; I heard something to the effect of 'what are you doing in the tower; are you stupid?' This might be partially paraphrased; but the question 'are you stupid' is verbatim. Apparently an airplane was being delivered to the gate by maintenance; immediately next to our gate. The geometry of the gates is such that if an airplane is arriving at that gate there is a potential conflict and chance for collision with an airplane pushing back from our gate. It seems that it was the operator of the aircraft arriving at the adjacent gate; who had previously been cleared in; who made these inappropriate comments on the ramp frequency. To confirm; our brakes were never released and we did not start the pushback; until we confirmed about 4 times with the ramp controller and our tug operator; that the ramp was clear behind us. The operator of the aircraft arriving at the adjacent gate; apparently maintenance; did the correct thing by making us aware that there was a potential conflict; as he was not yet fully parked at the gate. However; his use of the radio was unprofessional and inappropriate. The ramp controller told us that his supervisor would be pulling the tapes for review.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.