Only after pushback had begun did the ground crew realize the tow bar was not linked to the tractor ...

Narrative:

During pushback and prior to engine start we told the push crew to 'tail us' at a 45 [degree angle per ramp control]. About half way through pushback the tug drive started calling; 'set brakes. Set brakes. Set brakes!' as we were still moving backwards I asked him what was going on. I was told that; 'they forgot to hitch the tow bar to the tug.' the plane was now rolling straight back with everybody onboard across the ramp not connected to anything. I gently applied one brake to stop the plane without tipping it onto its tail. As a result the plane stopped straight back (as opposed to a 45) and way out in the center of the ramp. Nose wheel on our taxi line. Tail hanging out over the opposite taxi line. If there had been another plane in the lane behind us we would have smashed into it for sure. All ground crews should receive additional training on connecting the tug to the aircraft. Have a supervisor check the connection of the tow bar between the tug and the aircraft prior to push as a back up/second opinion.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Only after pushback had begun did the ground crew realize the tow bar was not linked to the tractor and the aircraft was rolling backwards on its own and alerted the flight crew. The Captain was able to cautiously halt the backward motion and set the brakes before any contact occurred.

Narrative: During pushback and prior to engine start we told the push crew to 'tail us' at a 45 [degree angle per ramp control]. About half way through pushback the tug drive started calling; 'Set brakes. Set brakes. Set brakes!' As we were still moving backwards I asked him what was going on. I was told that; 'They forgot to hitch the tow bar to the tug.' The plane was now rolling straight back with everybody onboard across the ramp not connected to anything. I gently applied one brake to stop the plane without tipping it onto its tail. As a result the plane stopped straight back (as opposed to a 45) and way out in the center of the ramp. Nose wheel on our taxi line. Tail hanging out over the opposite taxi line. If there had been another plane in the lane behind us we would have smashed into it for sure. All ground crews should receive additional training on connecting the tug to the aircraft. Have a Supervisor check the connection of the tow bar between the tug and the aircraft prior to push as a back up/second opinion.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.

Attributes
ACN	1187431
Time
Date	201407
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ATL.Airport
State Reference	GA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Medium Transport Low Wing 2 Turbojet Eng
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Conflict Ground Conflict Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control

Only after pushback had begun did the ground crew realize the tow bar was not linked to the tractor and the aircraft was rolling backwards on its own and alerted the flight crew. The captain was able to cautiously halt the backward motion and set the brakes before any contact occurred.