Powerback is used by
aircraft
An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
to move backwards on the ground using the
power
Power may refer to:
Common meanings
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power, a type of energy
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
Math ...
of their
engines
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
in
reverse thrust Reverse or reversing may refer to:
Arts and media
*Reverse (Eldritch album), ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001
*Reverse (2009 film), ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
*Reverse (2019 film), ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian cr ...
operation. Civil and general aviation aircraft equipped with
reverse thrust Reverse or reversing may refer to:
Arts and media
*Reverse (Eldritch album), ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001
*Reverse (2009 film), ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
*Reverse (2019 film), ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian cr ...
are technically or theoretically able to use powerbacks as a means of "backing up" but such operation is prohibited or strongly discouraged by aircraft manufacturers as well as airport safety regulations in nations with actual aviation safety regulating agencies.
Background
While many aircraft are physically capable of performing powerbacks, many companies impose restrictions on the practice, mainly due to the risk of FOD (
foreign object damage
In aviation and aerospace, the term foreign object damage (FOD) refers to any damage to an aircraft attributed to foreign object debris (also referred to as "FOD"), which is any particle or substance, alien to an aircraft or system which could ...
) from debris propelled into the air. This problem is magnified even more with planes having wing-mounted engines, as their proximity to the ground can exacerbate debris ingestion if powerbacks are used. Small metal objects are particularly dangerous as they can be propelled into terminal windows, employees on the ground or even the aircraft itself. Applying the brakes when backing up also has the potential to cause a
tailstrike
In aviation, a tailstrike or tail strike occurs when the tail or empennage of an aircraft strikes the ground or other stationary object. This can happen with a fixed-wing aircraft with tricycle undercarriage, in both takeoff where the pilot r ...
.
During the 1980s, many aircraft with aft-mounted engines, such as
DC-9s,
Boeing 727s, and
MD-80s used powerbacks to reduce the number of ground personnel required.
For example,
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...
' fleet of DC-9 aircraft used powerback operations at certain airports, but discontinued the practice in 2005 citing the need to conserve fuel.
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ), also avoids using the procedure for the same reasons, noting that powerbacks cause extra wear on the engines.
In addition, in the United States, restrictions on powerbacks are enforced by the
FAA, and the local aviation officials. Only certain gates at certain airports are approved for powerbacks, and are usually placarded as such. Many airlines impose stricter safety procedures for powerbacks, which often include disallowing a powerback under certain environmental conditions, such as rain or snow.
Military use
In several US military aircraft such as the
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...
, the
C-5 Galaxy
The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-rang ...
and the
C-17 Globemaster III
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...
, powerback operation is technically possible as demonstrated at civil airshows but there are severe limitations on the ability of all reverse-thrust capable aircraft to perform actual "
pushback
Pushback may refer to:
* Pushback (aviation), a vehicle for towing airplanes
* Pushback (migration), any measure aimed at forcing migrants to return over a border
* Backlash (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
" on their own in actual service.
See also
*
Taxiing
Taxiing (rarely spelled taxying) is the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or pushback (aviation), pushback where the aircraft is moved by a tug. The aircraft usually moves on wheels, but the term ...
*
Air Florida Flight 90
Air Florida Flight 90 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated from Washington National Airport (now Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport) to Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, with an intermediate stopover at T ...
References
Aircraft operations
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