A B777 flight crew; unable to find the tow in checklist in any of their newly revised paper or ECL resources; was compelled to complete the tow in procedure without the required SOP guidance. The reporter stressed inadequacy of training provided for the flight crew; familiarity with the location of procedural resources; as well as inadequate training on the associated procedures were contributory.

Narrative

As we taxied to our gate we were preparing for the Tow in Taxi procedure that needs to be run to set the airplane up for a non-routine parking situation. There was an additional 777 First Officer who was Jump seating. I attempted to locate the taxi-in checklist on the ECL [Electronic Check List] under the un-annunciated checklists and several other areas of the ECL to no avail. The entire crew became frustrated and confused as to why three company 777 type rated pilots could not find the checklist for proper tow in procedures. I decided to consult the AFM and; again; none of us could locate the checklist. We all looked at each other in disgust as this procedure that used to be readily available and for which we had been properly trained in the past was missing and/or we were unable to locate. As I was attempting to find the appropriate checklist I overheard the Ground Crew ask the Captain if he was ready to be 'hooked Up.' I realized this was non-standard phraseology and asked the Captain if we were connected to the tow-bar? He looked at me; confused; and I said 'I cannot find the checklist and we are not prepared for Tow-in.' He immediately shut down the engines and waited for confirmation from the Ground Crew that we were not hooked up. I heard the Ground Crew ask for brakes to be released and again wondered what procedures he was using and/or what procedures we were supposed to be using. This lack of guidance is especially dangerous on the 777 since we are never to be connected and towed with engines running. The confusion was apparent to everyone involved. This could have easily caused damage to the aircraft and or injury to ground personnel had we not caught the Ground Crew's mistake. We never found the checklist and were towed in using procedures we believed to be appropriate lacking any AFM or Checklist guidance. Our lack of training on new procedures; the location of checklists and use of the new AFM changes is overwhelming and dangerous. These procedures and the lack of quality training is going to cause damage to aircraft and injury to personnel.