"Ramapriya" wrote in message
ups.com...

I remember seeing a button on the A320 flight deck for disconnection of
the nosewheel steering control. I also remember the cap'n saying that
that's used during the push-back of the aircraft. He mentioned some
reason for that but I don't recall what; possibly something to do with
the hydraulics not getting accidentally triggered off or something like
that.

Can someone get me up to speed on this?


I can't say for certain, but I can probably make a pretty good guess.
During push-back the airplane is moved backward via a tug and towbar
attached to the nose gear. The nose gear must be free to turn to permit the
tug driver to steer the aircraft. The nose wheel steering system would tend
to resist his efforts if it was engaged.