Narrative:

During pushback from gate the tug crew forgot to put the large pin in which connects the tug to the aircraft. When the tug slowed the plane continued to move backwards. I first became aware of the problem when I saw a marshaller on the left side of the aircraft giving me the stop signal. I thought this was odd as I was being pushed back. I looked out front and the tug was fifty yards away and I was not attached and was continuing backward. I evaluated the situation and decided prompt gentle brake application was required to stop the aircraft to avoid hitting another aircraft or tipping on our tail. This quick action and good judgment saved the day and damage to the aircraft or any passengers. Just after this incident; when our aircraft was stopped; the aircraft next door began pushing. They seemed to be oblivious that their wing tip would hit my wing tip. I opened the captain's window and waived my arms to get the attention of the other pushback crew. I pointed to their wing and my wing. They stopped their pushback and pulled their aircraft back to the gate. This avoided another incident; but they need to be more alert that something was not right next to them.retrain ground crew and brief all ground crews at all stations on this incident and how to prevent this from happening. Suggest at least two people must confirm pin is in proper pushback hole; not the storage hole; and that tug is connected correctly to the aircraft. Perhaps they need to use a checklist. Inform ground crews they must pay attention to all which is going on around them and be alert for something going wrong in the vicinity.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B717 Captain reported aircraft becoming disconnected from the tug during pushback. The aircraft was stopped without damage but the pushback crew next door had to be alerted to stop their push to avoid a collision.

Narrative: During pushback from gate the tug crew forgot to put the large pin in which connects the tug to the aircraft. When the tug slowed the plane continued to move backwards. I first became aware of the problem when I saw a Marshaller on the left side of the aircraft giving me the stop signal. I thought this was odd as I was being pushed back. I looked out front and the tug was fifty yards away and I was not attached and was continuing backward. I evaluated the situation and decided prompt gentle brake application was required to stop the aircraft to avoid hitting another aircraft or tipping on our tail. This quick action and good judgment saved the day and damage to the aircraft or any passengers. Just after this incident; when our aircraft was stopped; the aircraft next door began pushing. They seemed to be oblivious that their wing tip would hit my wing tip. I opened the Captain's window and waived my arms to get the attention of the other pushback crew. I pointed to their wing and my wing. They stopped their pushback and pulled their aircraft back to the gate. This avoided another incident; but they need to be more alert that something was not right next to them.Retrain ground crew and brief all ground crews at all stations on this incident and how to prevent this from happening. Suggest at least two people must confirm pin is in proper pushback hole; not the storage hole; and that tug is connected correctly to the aircraft. Perhaps they need to use a checklist. Inform ground crews they must pay attention to all which is going on around them and be alert for something going wrong in the vicinity.

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.