Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Confusion; Human-Machine Interface; Time Pressure; Workload
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
Flight Crew Returned To Gate
Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
The inbound aircraft arrived late and the crew was hustling trying to get the outbound flight out on time. The FO and I were still getting ourselves situated in the cockpit as the passengers were boarding. The boarding complete; the FA handed us the passenger count and baggage sheet and asked if the Main Cabin Door could be closed. I said 'Yes' and she shut the door. As I looked out the left direct vision window; I saw one of the ground handlers flash the 'Release Brakes' hand signal. It should be noted that neither of us had our headsets plugged in at this point. The doors all indicated shut on the MFD and I released the parking brake to capture the OUT time. Moments later the FO said; 'He wants to know if he can pull the GPU.' I said; 'We're not on GPU'. The ELEC MFD page showed the GPU at zero volts the APU on bus. 'I made this sign' he said; indicating the 'Remove PC Air' hand signal. Suddenly the pushback began. I flashed the nose landing light to try and get the tug operator's attention. When that had no effect I turned on Hydraulic Pump 2 and began gently applying the wheel brakes to stop the aircraft from moving. I reasoned that a slow stop would be better for all involved than a quick stop by pulling up the parking brake suddenly. I reached for the hand mic and transmitted; 'STOP THE PUSH!' on the off chance that the tug operator had a headset on. Then there was a big thump and the airplane stopped. The ground handlers made the 'Set Brakes' hand signal and I set the brake. After fishing out the headset and establishing communications; we learned that the towbar had failed. The towbar head had been bent up at a 90 degree angle and wedged itself against both nosewheel assemblies. After removing the damaged towbar; we called Maintenance Control and they contacted the contract Maintenance provider. I sent three pictures to Maintenance Control via email so that they could more clearly understand what had happened. The contract mechanic completed his inspection; coordinated with Maintenance Control and determined that no further action was required. We proceeded to our destination without further incident.
While rushing their cockpit preparation due to a short airplane switch; the flight and ground Crews of an E-145 failed to coordinate their pushback communications and the Captain's attempt to bring the pushback to a stop by applying brakes while the tractor was pushing caused a massive failure of the tow bar.