Q400
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Human Factors; Incorrect / Not Installed / Unavailable Part
After establishing communication with the Tug Driver I released the brakes and was cleared to start engine 2. Roughly 4 seconds after beginning the engine start sequence; the Tug Driver requested we abort the engine start. I conducted the engine start abort memory items and then called for the checklist. After completing the checklist I asked what the reason for the abort was. The Tug driver mentioned that the wrong 'plate' was attached to the tug and was too small for the Q400. The tug driver didn't want us to have an engine spinning as they tried to correct the issue. I thanked the tug driver for making the right call and keeping our operation safe.I've noticed a large pressure across our system; at all levels of the operation; to turn planes as quick as possible to have no delays; and if we do have a delay then to start pointing fingers at whomever is to fault. After such a challenging season with our performance; I understand the push to get our operation back on track; but I think that pressure is being applied in the wrong places and safety is starting to be sacrificed for the zero delay metric. This tug driver noticed something was wrong and spoke up; potentially saving us from another safety event; but the plate being used should be verified before we get to that point. We can focus on hitting zero delay or we can focus on doing things right; usually one parameter will bow to the other. My recommendation would be to make safety the uncompromising priority again.
During the pushback process; the captain began the engine start sequence on the number two engine after being cleared by the pushback team. Immediately after commencing the start sequence; the captain was told by the tug driver to stop the start. The engine start was aborted. The ground crew said they called for the start to be stopped because the wrong plate was attached to the tug for the Q400 and the crew would have to disconnect the tug. The crew ran the Engine Start Abort checklist successfully; completed engine start; and pushed back from the gate once the rampers had correctly configured the tug.Ensure the correct plate is on the tug prior to commencing capture of an airplane.
Q400 flight crew reported that the ground crew asked them to abort engine start due to an incorrect tow bar attached.