Losing contact with your flight
- Thread starter thegriffinpages
- Start date
Well the reason for NWAs NORDO was "cockpit distraction"
DispatcherSam
Well-Known Member
Spoilers!!!
I haven’t seen that one yet!
according to the pilot deviation report, AT 0119Z CONTROLLER ASKED PILOT TO EXPLAIN THE CAUSE OF THE SITUATION TO WHICH THE PILOT REPLIED "JUST COCKPIT DISTRACTION THATS ALL I CAN TELL YOU AT THIS TIME"...PILOT WAS ASKED TO ELABORATE ON SITUATION AND HE REPLIED "WE'RE JUST DEALING WITH SOME COMPANY ISSUES HERE AND THAT'S ALL I CAN TELL YOU AT THIS TIME"
DispatcherSam
Well-Known Member
I’m going to attempt to be as nice as I can with this. If you have any future in this line of work, it requires a great deal of situational awareness. If you are being sincere in your postings, be advised, you have a great lack of situational awareness. If you’re just trolling us, it may behoove you to forever keep your identity hidden.
Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
I gotta tell ya, as a PIC, I’d have grave concerns dealing with this future dispatcher. That’s just me, and maybe I’m being overly crusty, but I get this image in my head when I read the postings.
McCrosky
Well-Known Member
I understand why you may feel however, point one. I assume you’re referring to the post that referred to the “ cockpit dissection”, he/she was quoting direct from the recordings. The crew was doing whatever they were doing send lost their situational awareness.
Point two: and this is from personal experience, we, as dispatchers, are required by law to inform you, the PIC, when stuff is wrong. And when you, as PIC, are doing what we see as odd, silly, strange, unsafe, etc... we have to try and figure out why. We can’t see what’s outside your window. But, and again, personal experience, if you slide off an icy taxiway some one short on sense of humor from the FAA is gonna ask me why I didn’t tell you the taxiways were icy. When I say they received a digital atis and airport field condition reports via acars, they ask why didn’t I personally contact The crew to cofmirm they were aware. When I say I assume the PIC can read and understand English... well I mentioned their lack of a sense of humor. When dealing with 50 PIC’s a shift, we don’t know which one of you is on the bottom of the bell curve and have to work to the common denominator. Please don’t take it personally. I’m guessing at some point in your career you flew with an FO who you thought “how is he/she behind the yoke?” That person slips through and gets his/her 4th stripe and suddenly I’m trying to keep him/her from filing an ASAP or god forbid worse.
Imagine taking the worst aviator you’ve ever flown with and have to deal with 50 of them a day. So yes, we may be harrsssing or pointing out the obvious to you, But it’s because at some point it wasn’t obvious to some one else. And the dispatcher got a LOI from FAA.
Side note.. not exactly lost coms, But there’s the old story of the “hijacked” flight the crew never knew was hikacked (would say urban legend but several ex-redass people told me it happened). More of a lesson in bad coms/ lack of situational awareness.
That’s my rant, back to the bourbon.
who'swho
Don't hesitate. Penetrate!
Cptnchia
Dissatisfied Customer
@McCrosky I think you misunderstood me. I was more alluding to the incessant posting. Again, I like the old Victorian practice of “Kids should be seen and not heard.” By that I mean, learn your craft, keep your pie hole closed and your eyes and ears open. If you have a question, make it short, direct, and succinct. Same thing I told my students as a CFI, and I’ll tell a noob FO today.
I’ve worked in an OCC before. I’ve witnessed what dispatchers deal with. Got nothing but respect for the good ones!
I’ve worked in an OCC before. I’ve witnessed what dispatchers deal with. Got nothing but respect for the good ones!
DogwoodLynx
Well-Known Member
I do appreciate all the advice and stories that you experienced guys write about. Can't wait to have my own!
MAK49
Well-Known Member
Only experiences I've had is when ATC calls, usually to check if one of my flights had touched down somewhere with not so good radio reception, or one time there was a significant lag between the crew picking up their clearance and actually getting into radio reception. Luckily some airports up here have FAA webcams on them and I can see my plane there. If not, just a few phone calls and it all gets resolved.
pljenkins
Resident Knucklehead
We get a couple of guys go NORDO with ATC a day around here. Variety of reasons, but I've never had one that went a disturbingly long time radio silent. We almost never get an after-action report on those unless we notice a radio get deferred after the mission.
As mentioned here, though, there is protocol. As a dispatcher, my first move it ACARS, then SATCOM if equipped, then ARINC, maybe another company in proximity trying him on guard, then it's time to get other assets involved. Usually if he's truly incommunicado those "other assets" will already be hard at work. If the crew has wised up that there's a problem and they can't talk they will likely be squawking 7600 by then and we'll have at least a partial answer. By the regs, if I've exhausted all of my options and more than a few minutes go by, I would need to declare an emergency at that point. I've had a couple of times where I had to start thinking about it, but never had to do it, thankfully.
As to the pilot perspective, in the event of a lost comm the crew is supposed to follow either the flight plan or whatever their last clearance was prior to lost comms. This ensures that ATC knows what they are going to do and also that they are otherwise in control of the situation.
In this day and age, I wouldn't be surprised if they got an airborne escort from the ANG just to make sure everything is on the up and up.
As mentioned here, though, there is protocol. As a dispatcher, my first move it ACARS, then SATCOM if equipped, then ARINC, maybe another company in proximity trying him on guard, then it's time to get other assets involved. Usually if he's truly incommunicado those "other assets" will already be hard at work. If the crew has wised up that there's a problem and they can't talk they will likely be squawking 7600 by then and we'll have at least a partial answer. By the regs, if I've exhausted all of my options and more than a few minutes go by, I would need to declare an emergency at that point. I've had a couple of times where I had to start thinking about it, but never had to do it, thankfully.
As to the pilot perspective, in the event of a lost comm the crew is supposed to follow either the flight plan or whatever their last clearance was prior to lost comms. This ensures that ATC knows what they are going to do and also that they are otherwise in control of the situation.
In this day and age, I wouldn't be surprised if they got an airborne escort from the ANG just to make sure everything is on the up and up.