A320
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 250; Flight Crew Total 23500; Flight Crew Type 8500
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
General Maintenance Action
Equipment / Tooling
During pushback the push crew said the tow bar had disconnected and to stop the aircraft; I applied light brake pressure and came to a stop.  He said the tow bar was defective and they confirmed that there was no damage to the nose gear.  We proceeded and the flight was uneventful.  After rereading the breakaway procedure in the Normal Pushback section it was noted that we should have had maintenance inspect the nose gear.  I called Maintenance Control and they had the inspection done.  No damage was observed.
When looking at the Breakaway procedures section; there is no warning of contacting maintenance in the actual breakaway procedure section. It was only after the flight that the Captain found the warning on a previous page at the beginning of the normal section. Due to using a tablet vice a physical manual; it was not readily apparent that maintenance should be contacted during any issues with the tow bar. I would recommend an additional warning be added to the breakaway section.
When the towbar broke during pushback; the ground crew alerted the Captain of the A320 who brought the aircraft to a gentle stop. The ground crew advised there was no visible damage and the flight crew continued the flight. They later discovered a normal procedure AOM reference required a specific inspection after a breakaway from a tow. Maintenance was advised and the procedure completed at the next stop. Both pilots advised the location of the requirement; on tablet pages preceding the breakaway procedure; made it questionable that it would be seen by flight crews accessing only the procedure itself.