Narrative:

After pushing back from [the] gate and completing the engine 1 start; the ground crew disconnected and left the aircraft. After completing the flight controls check I tried to engage the nosewheel steering and it did not engage. We call the rampers back out to the plane to engage the nosewheel switch in the communications panel. After they came out and flipped the switch; I could still not engage the nosewheel steering. We signaled for the ramper to go get a headset and he departed. After conducting some checks we realized that the hydraulic 2 pump had depressurization since it had been more than 6 minutes. I reset the parking brake and the hydraulic 2 re-pressurized. I then engaged nose wheel steering and it worked properly. We made a scan of the area; did not see anyone near so I disengaged the parking brake and as I advanced forward a ramper came out from under the nose and I felt pressure on the wheel. It was at this time we realized that the ground crew had returned with a tug but never made contact with us; nor was a ramper visual from the cockpit to know. I was able to make communication with the ramper and after making sure everyone was safe; we cleared the aircraft and proceeded to taxi. No visuals with any ramp crew. Whenever a ramp crew member is under the nose an additional crew member should be visible at all times to make the crew aware.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier flight crew reported mis-communication issues with ramp crew during pushback.

Narrative: After pushing back from [the] gate and completing the engine 1 start; the ground crew disconnected and left the aircraft. After completing the flight controls check I tried to engage the nosewheel steering and it did not engage. We call the rampers back out to the plane to engage the nosewheel switch in the communications panel. After they came out and flipped the switch; I could still not engage the nosewheel steering. We signaled for the ramper to go get a headset and he departed. After conducting some checks we realized that the hydraulic 2 pump had depressurization since it had been more than 6 minutes. I reset the parking brake and the hydraulic 2 re-pressurized. I then engaged nose wheel steering and it worked properly. We made a scan of the area; did not see anyone near so I disengaged the parking brake and as I advanced forward a ramper came out from under the nose and I felt pressure on the wheel. It was at this time we realized that the ground crew had returned with a tug but never made contact with us; nor was a ramper visual from the cockpit to know. I was able to make communication with the ramper and after making sure everyone was safe; we cleared the aircraft and proceeded to taxi. No visuals with any ramp crew. Whenever a ramp crew member is under the nose an additional crew member should be visible at all times to make the crew aware.

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.