The Reverse Thrust Maneuver Major US Airlines Quietly Abandoned Around 2006 & Why It Never Came Back

Through the 1980s, 1990s, and into the early 2000s, passengers seated on an American Airlines MD-80 or a Northwest Airlines DC-9 could watch through the window as the aircraft pushed itself backward from the gate under its own power, engines roaring in reverse thrust, with no pushback tug attached. The maneuver was called a powerback, and at its peak it was a routine part of ground operations at carriers including American, Northwest, Eastern, AirTran, and Alaska Airlines. Only certain aircraft types at certain gates at certain airports were approved for the procedure, but at hubs where the approvals were in place, crews performed it multiple times per day.