B767-400 begins to taxi without a salute. Barely avoided collision with pushback tug.

Narrative:

It was an uneventful push off the gate. Fairly short taxi to the active runway; so I called for engine start checklist for both engines. Push stopped on the ramp; parking brakes set and disconnect procedures started. Waited for second engine to come up to speed and the after start checklist was completed. Ground control was called. Taxi clearance given with taxiway and intersection closures. We (pilots) spent some time reviewing; discussing; and agreed on a taxi plan. After this; I looked around and saw no ground marshaller in sight. Ready to go; I cleared left and the first officer cleared right. Nose taxi light was turned on; parking brake released. As the plane just started to roll forward; I glimpsed the back end of the push tug appearing from under the airplane's nose. Brakes were immediately applied. No personnel were injured. There was no damage to aircraft or ground equipment. Looking back; I should not have called for taxi clearance without first assuring ground personnel and equipment were safely clear (i.e.; 'wave-off'). I could have avoided this situation had I not gotten away from my flow/sequencing and also verified that at least 1 pilot had seen the push crew safely clear the plane. It would also help if there was a control marshaller in the line of sight for the captain and first officer from brakes set to personnel/equipment clear of aircraft.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B767-400 begins to taxi without a salute. Barely avoided collision with pushback tug.

Narrative: It was an uneventful push off the gate. Fairly short taxi to the active runway; so I called for Engine Start checklist for both engines. Push stopped on the ramp; parking brakes set and disconnect procedures started. Waited for second engine to come up to speed and the After Start checklist was completed. Ground Control was called. Taxi clearance given with taxiway and intersection closures. We (pilots) spent some time reviewing; discussing; and agreed on a taxi plan. After this; I looked around and saw no ground marshaller in sight. Ready to go; I cleared left and the First Officer cleared right. Nose taxi light was turned on; parking brake released. As the plane just started to roll forward; I glimpsed the back end of the push tug appearing from under the airplane's nose. Brakes were immediately applied. No personnel were injured. There was no damage to aircraft or ground equipment. Looking back; I should not have called for taxi clearance without first assuring ground personnel and equipment were safely clear (i.e.; 'wave-off'). I could have avoided this situation had I not gotten away from my flow/sequencing and also verified that at least 1 pilot had seen the push crew safely clear the plane. It would also help if there was a control marshaller in the line of sight for the Captain and First Officer from brakes set to personnel/equipment clear of aircraft.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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	824824
Time
Date	200902
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B767-400 and 400 ER
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 115 Flight Crew Total 11368 Flight Crew Type 585
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Vehicle