Over zealous tug damages Virgin!!!!!!!

Engineers are demanding a bigger role in pushing back aircraft after a tug damaged the nose gear of a Virgin Blue plane on Tuesday and stranded passengers in Darwin for 24 hours.
The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association said it appeared the tug driver drove forward, shearing a pin and turning the nose gear through a 90 degree left turn.
“It was reported to the ALAEA that, if the push-back tug driver had gone a few more feet, this incident had the potential to cause the nose gear undercarriage to fail completely and collapse,” the union said.
The union wants Virgin to allow a licensed engineer to supervise the push-back using headphones.
Virgin Blue spokeswoman Amanda Bolger confirmed the incident and said it was under investigation.
She said passengers were offered credit and transferred to a flight the next day.
The aircraft was flown to Brisbane for a safety check. It was found to be fine and was now back in service.
“We’re confident that the people operating our tugs are highly trained and operate the equipment as per standard operating procedures and in line with civil aviation regulations,” she said.
The union has also written to Jetstar chief executive Alan Joyce raising the same issue.
In the letter, ALAEA industrial manager Chris Ryan warns that under-resourced and overworked ground crews are being charged with levels of responsibility for which they have not been adequately trained.