A ramp agent reported an A320 became separated from the pushback bar during pushback from the gate. ...

Narrative:

Aircraft experienced a breakaway from the tug during pushback. Ground crewman; with wireless headset; used non-standard phraseology to advise the breakaway. During breakaway; pushback said 'set brakes; set brakes; set brakes' while aircraft was being pushed back. The urgency of ground crew communication combined with the odd position of the tug determined my application of brakes more than the content of their verbal notification. First officer was listening to pushback and communicated to captain to apply brakes. Ramp control was advised and maintenance was radioed for a precautionary check of the nose gear prior to tow bar reconnection; push and subsequent taxi. The tow bar was undamaged and maintenance verified that the nose gear was undamaged as well. First officer correctly suggested; proper 'breakaway' terminology to the ground crewman for use in future occurrences.despite the slight delay incurred by non-standard terminology; the wireless headset still allowed for timely notification and brake application. If a wired intercom plug had been used and pulled free during the event; I believe the loss of communications would have increased the total distance/time prior to braking action.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Ramp Agent reported an A320 became separated from the pushback bar during pushback from the gate. The Ramp Agent; using a wireless headset; advised the crew to 'set brakes' instead of using the prescribed breakaway terminology.

Narrative: Aircraft experienced a breakaway from the tug during pushback. Ground crewman; with wireless headset; used non-standard phraseology to advise the breakaway. During breakaway; pushback said 'set brakes; set brakes; set brakes' while aircraft was being pushed back. The urgency of ground crew communication combined with the odd position of the tug determined my application of brakes more than the content of their verbal notification. FO was listening to pushback and communicated to Captain to apply brakes. Ramp control was advised and maintenance was radioed for a precautionary check of the nose gear prior to tow bar reconnection; push and subsequent taxi. The tow bar was undamaged and maintenance verified that the nose gear was undamaged as well. FO correctly suggested; proper 'Breakaway' terminology to the ground crewman for use in future occurrences.Despite the slight delay incurred by non-standard terminology; the wireless headset still allowed for timely notification and brake application. If a wired intercom plug had been used and pulled free during the event; I believe the loss of communications would have increased the total distance/time prior to braking action.

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	1513854
Time
Date	201801
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	EWR.Airport
State Reference	NJ
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Type 1737
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

A ramp agent reported an A320 became separated from the pushback bar during pushback from the gate. The ramp agent; using a wireless headset; advised the crew to 'set brakes' instead of using the prescribed breakaway terminology.