# Incident 20140202001899I: Boeing 757-222, Arlington, VA, February 2, 2014

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 2, 2014, 19:25 local time
- Place: Arlington, VA
- Airport: Ronald Reagan National
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Ground/Ramp/Ma
- Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
- Operator: CALA
- Location: 38.8783° N, 77.1007° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Arlington, VA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.8783&lon=-77.1007&mi=10
- Aircraft: N509UA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N509UA-2015-08-26) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Boeing 757-222 (registry code 1384956, https://openairdocs.org/model/boeing-757-222) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PW2040 (registry code 52121, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pw2040) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BOEING 757-222
- Reported engine: P & W PW2040
- People aboard: 53
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140202001899I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AT APPROXIMATELY 1921 LOCAL FLIGHT #729 (DCA-IAH) WAS PUSHED FROM GATE 12 AT THE SAME TIME A DELTA AIRCRAFT WAS BEING PUSHED FROM GATE 18.  THE PUSHBACK PROCEEDED AT A NORMAL RATE OF SPEED, THE PUSHBACK OPERATOR CONCERNED WITH THE DELTA AIRCRAFT OFF HIS TAIL STOPPED THE PUSH SHORT WHICH ENDED UP LEAVING THE TOW BAR AT A LESS THEN IDEA ANGLE FOR DISCONNECT. THE PUSHBACK OPERATOR THEN DIRECTS THE CAPTAIN TO SET BRAKES AND GIVES THE CLEAR TO START ENGINE COMMAND (POSITION #1).  THE WING WALKER ON AIRCRAFT RIGHT SIDE PROCEEDS TO THE PUSHBACK AND IS GIVEN THE SIGNAL TO DISCONNECT.  BECAUSE THE TOW BAR WAS NOT IN LINE WITH THE AIRCRAFT THE WING WALKER HAD PLANNED TO DISCONNECT THE TOW BAR FROM THE TRACTOR FIRST IN AN EFFORT TO RELIEVE THE TENSION AND THEN DISCONNECT FROM THE AIRCRAFT.   AT THAT POINT, THE MARSHALER LEAVES HIS POSITION AT THE FRONT OF THE AIRCRAFT AND APPROACHES THE PUSHBACK, HE ADVISES THE PUSHBACK OPERATOR THAT HE WOULD STRAIGHTEN OUT THE TOW BAR AND PROCEEDED TO GET INTO THE PUSHBACK VEHICLE.  WHEN ATTEMPTING TO STRAIGHTEN THE TOW BAR HE PULLED THE AIRCRAFT FORWARD WITH THE PUSHBACK IN REVERSE, AS HE APPLIED THE BRAKES THE PRESSURE ON THE TOW BAR WAS SO GREAT THAT THE AIRCRAFT WOULD NOT STOP.  HE CONTINUED TO APPLY THE BRAKES BUT BECAUSE OF THE ANGLE, THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED FORWARD CAUSING THE TOW BAR TO COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE BUMPER SNAPPING IT IN HALF.  WHEN THE TOW BAR BROKE THE PUSHBACK OPERATOR JUMPED OUT OF THE PUSHBACK AND RAN AWAY FROM THE AIRCRAFT AND WAS NOT INJURED. THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED ROLLING FORWARD WEDGING THE PUSHBACK BETWEEN THE ENGINE AND FUSELAGE DRAGGING IT APPROXIMATELY 20 YARDS. SUBSTANCIAL DAMAGE TO ENGINE #2 AND BOTTOM OF FUSELAGE WAS SUSTAINED.

NOTE: BOTH ENGINES WERE RUNNING WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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