03/14/2026
Story time!
Speaking of pushback fires….Back in August of 2025 I was towing a Boeing 787-9 when the B1200 pushback tractor caught on fire. I was going up a hill and to cross a taxiway bridge while towing to hangar and I noticed smoke coming out of the tractors engine and a burning smell, once I crossed one of the runways the pushback engine was already in flames… once I found a safe spot for the aircraft and me to stop the flames was getting bigger. I turned off the engine and tried putting out the fire with the fire extinguisher. It didn’t do much help. By the grace of God, ARFF showed up within 3 minutes and put out the fire. Thankfully the aircraft was fine and everyone was safe. Definitely an experience I never want to go through again. As of now the pushback tractor has been sitting at the GSE shop for months and hasn’t been touched since then. Hopefully the pushback drives again one day 🤞 but it’s damaged pretty bad
Credit - Alex Michael Cahue-Kosacek
