Dash 8-100
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Situational Awareness
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury
Flight Crew Returned To Gate; Flight Crew Regained Aircraft Control; General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Procedure; Aircraft; Human Factors
Departure Briefing; Before Start Checklist; and Weight and Balance were completed and cabin was ready for departure. Pushback was commenced.... During pushback the First Officer started the Number 2 Engine and I called Ground to let them know we were 5 minutes prior to taxi. After engine start; the Ground Controller said that our wheels up time was XX:53 local. I immediately knew we had a problem with minimum fuel at that point because our planned fuel was only 100 LBS greater than minimum fuel. I talked it over with the First Officer and we agreed that minimum fuel would be a problem after 30 minutes even planning a single engine taxi. It was agreed that we should pull back into the gate and put on another 100 LBS of taxi fuel. I made a PA announcement to the passengers about the departure delay and the decision to return to the gate for more fuel.... I moved the Number 2 condition lever out of feather and switched on the nose wheel steering. I checked the PA light to make sure the Flight Attendant was seated and released the parking brake. The aircraft rolled forward for about 20 FT before I realized that I had no normal braking. The aircraft was brought to a stop using the parking brake and the nose pitched down abruptly compressing the nose wheel strut. I looked down and saw no hydraulic pressure in the Number 1 system and realized what I had done. I had moved the aircraft after an engine start without completing the After Start Checklist. The Number 2 Engine was shut down and I received a call from the Flight Attendant informing me that she'd fallen during the abrupt stop. Always operate under SOP especially when there are abnormal circumstances and distractions. Had we done the After Start Checklist prior to returning to the gate we would've had normal braking and the parking brake would not have been needed.
Task saturation was high after/during engine start. I was solely focused on starting the engine. Before the engine was completely started; we had to make the decision of returning to gate and adding fuel etc. Being unsure if we were going to taxi single engine or start both engines or return to the gate; I held off on the After Start Checklist (the After Start Checklist is not normally run until both engines are started or the Captain indicates we will be single engine taxi or asks for the checklist). Lack of communication between both pilots was largely to blame. The Flight Attendant was supposed to be seated but got up to talk to a passenger after the Captain had made the announcement. There was no indication that she was up. The application of the parking brake to stop the aircraft resulted in her falling.
Distracted by a fuel issue; DHC-8 flight crew failed to complete the After Start Checklist; did not turn on the hydraulic pump; and had to use the emergency brake to stop the aircraft from rolling. Flight Attendant was injured due to the abrupt stop.