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Airplanes are usually towed out of the gate of an airport. This is because an aircraft can reverse normally. They do have reverse thrust but essentially it is just reversing the flow of exhaust from the engines so it slows the aircraft from going forward. Furthermore, reverse thrust is almost exclusively used on landings to slow the aircraft down, other than that, the aircraft no way to move backwards. So to compensate, extremely powerful tugs or push back tractors are used to move the airplane out of the gate.

Other times aircraft would be towed would be when they have trouble maneuvering in a small space. In this position, a vehicle meant for driving on the ground would be better suited than a plane.

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14y ago

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Q: Why are aircraft towed?
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