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A B737 was pushed back at night. The tug driver put the left main wheel off of the concrete into mud. Unable to taxi; the aircraft was evacuated.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 862455 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200912 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Taxi |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | First Officer |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 252 |
| Person 2 | |
| Function | Vehicle Driver |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Excursion Taxiway |
Narrative:
The tug driver pushed flight from gate. The driver pushed the aircraft back far enough to cause the left main wheel to come off the concrete and into the grass/mud. The tug driver disconnected the towbar and was cleared off. He gave us the thumbs up and drove back to the gate. After completing the appropriate checklists; we obtained taxi clearance and attempted to taxi. After two attempts the aircraft failed to move and we made the assumption that something was wrong and began the process of calling operations; dispatch and security to evacuate the 55 passengers. The passengers were evacuated using the air stairs and escorted to the terminal. The left main mount had rolled off the pavement and was sinking into the mud. We defueled the aircraft to the minimum of 2;000 pounds and secured the aircraft for maintenance. In the dark; the transition from the concrete to the grass there is rather subtle. A simple solution is to paint a stop line the tug drivers can use to stop the push that guarantees enough room for the plane to taxi out while keeping it on the pavement. Other airport ramps in the system should also be evaluated for potential threats.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737 was pushed back at night. The tug driver put the left main wheel off of the concrete into mud. Unable to taxi; the aircraft was evacuated.
Narrative: The tug driver pushed flight from gate. The driver pushed the aircraft back far enough to cause the left main wheel to come off the concrete and into the grass/mud. The tug driver disconnected the towbar and was cleared off. He gave us the thumbs up and drove back to the gate. After completing the appropriate checklists; we obtained taxi clearance and attempted to taxi. After two attempts the aircraft failed to move and we made the assumption that something was wrong and began the process of calling Operations; Dispatch and Security to evacuate the 55 passengers. The passengers were evacuated using the air stairs and escorted to the terminal. The left main mount had rolled off the pavement and was sinking into the mud. We defueled the aircraft to the minimum of 2;000 LBS and secured the aircraft for Maintenance. In the dark; the transition from the concrete to the grass there is rather subtle. A simple solution is to paint a stop line the tug drivers can use to stop the push that guarantees enough room for the plane to taxi out while keeping it on the pavement. Other airport ramps in the system should also be evaluated for potential threats.
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.