<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by srodr:
I saw a first yesterday on a flight out of BWI. The pilot used thrust reversers to back out of the gate. I don't usually pay attention to how we're backing out, but I was wondering why the engines were running up so high right next to the building...then we just backed out. Anyone else ever seen this?</font>
Yep...the DC-9 does this. I've already had a couple of them out of the WorldGateway in Detroit. In fact there was a DC-9 doing (I think it's called) a reverse thrust pushback (I could be wrong on this though) this morning out of DTW. Although uncommon...it's not an extreme rarity. There are several additional safety requirements that must be met in order to attempt these types of pushbacks. I'll do a search for additional information and post a link when I get a chance.