Narrative:

An A319 was scheduled to be pushed off gate and taxi to the hangar. I was the lead and I was running city bags because my entire crew had gone home as scheduled. I radioed that no one was there and I would be back shortly. I returned and was told that [aircraft] was there to get pushed. I again radioed zone-control and said I was by myself and needed a push person and another wing walker. I removed the air and went back inside the kiosk to wait for others. I got a call on the phone and was asked to guide the bridge off. I went outside but the bridge was moving off before I could get there to act as a guide. The mechanic came down (in street clothes with no safety vest) and said I could push the aircraft then. I said I was not qualified and we needed two wing walkers. He said no just one because it was going to the hangar. I said no that we had to have two and I would be one. He said he would push and get someone else. I then walked out on the number 1 engine side to wing walk. Meanwhile; I called control on the radio and said that a man in street clothes wanted to push with one wing walker. I was told the man was in fact a mechanic from the [ramp] tower and I only needed one walker. I said no that the lessons I have recently taken require two. Another lead got on the radio and said that I was correct and the SOP requires two. Shortly after; an suv pulled up on the other side of the aircraft. A man in dark clothes with no wands or safety vest got out and proceeded out. The aircraft started the push with no signal to me that they were moving. Thankfully there were no vehicles approaching. I don't know what the hurry was but there seemed to be a complete disregard for safety of the aircraft or the people (me). I did receive a phone call after from a [company] controller saying that he was wrong and that I was right in stating the need for two wing walkers.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Ramp employee reported SOPs were not properly followed in a push-back maneuver that presented a danger to personnel.

Narrative: An A319 was scheduled to be pushed off gate and taxi to the hangar. I was the lead and I was running city bags because my entire crew had gone home as scheduled. I radioed that no one was there and I would be back shortly. I returned and was told that [aircraft] was there to get pushed. I again radioed Zone-Control and said I was by myself and needed a push person and another wing walker. I removed the air and went back inside the kiosk to wait for others. I got a call on the phone and was asked to guide the bridge off. I went outside but the bridge was moving off before I could get there to act as a guide. The mechanic came down (in street clothes with no safety vest) and said I could push the aircraft then. I said I was not qualified and we needed two wing walkers. He said no just one because it was going to the hangar. I said no that we had to have two and I would be one. He said he would push and get someone else. I then walked out on the Number 1 Engine side to wing walk. Meanwhile; I called control on the radio and said that a man in street clothes wanted to push with one wing walker. I was told the man was in fact a Mechanic from the [Ramp] Tower and I only needed one walker. I said no that the lessons I have recently taken require two. Another lead got on the radio and said that I was correct and the SOP requires two. Shortly after; an SUV pulled up on the other side of the aircraft. A man in dark clothes with NO wands or safety vest got out and proceeded out. The aircraft started the push with no signal to me that they were moving. Thankfully there were no vehicles approaching. I don't know what the hurry was but there seemed to be a complete disregard for safety of the aircraft or the people (me). I did receive a phone call after from a [Company] Controller saying that he was wrong and that I was right in stating the need for two wing walkers.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.