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Dispatcher was unable to maintain high frequency data link contact with crew during a trans-oceanic flight and recommends that the company discontinue the use of this type of aircraft on these routes until better data link radios are installed.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1334951 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201602 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZZ.ARTCC |
| State Reference | FO |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B767-300 and 300 ER |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | Oceanic |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | HF SSB |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Dispatcher |
| Qualification | Dispatch Dispatcher |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
Unable to establish communications with aircraft for period of time exceeding 20 min enroute; followed by a second instance still ongoing. Flight was in area over south china sea out of VHF datalink range; unable to transmit acars message via HF data link. No fault of dispatcher or crew; problem caused by placing insufficiently equipped aircraft (i.e; satcom; reliable HF data link) on overwater routes. Company in violation of far 121.99 for not providing means to maintain rapid and reliable communications.[suggest a removal of] 767 fleet from [this regions'] routes until such time as they can be equipped appropriately for the mission. Otherwise; only flight plan them to stay within guaranteed VHF datalink range and spend the extra money on time/fuel for the resulting longer routings.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Dispatcher was unable to maintain High Frequency data link contact with crew during a trans-oceanic flight and recommends that the company discontinue the use of this type of aircraft on these routes until better data link radios are installed.
Narrative: Unable to establish communications with aircraft for period of time exceeding 20 min enroute; followed by a second instance still ongoing. Flight was in area over South China Sea out of VHF datalink range; unable to transmit ACARs message via HF data link. No fault of dispatcher or crew; problem caused by placing insufficiently equipped aircraft (i.e; SATCOM; reliable HF data link) on overwater routes. Company in violation of FAR 121.99 for not providing means to maintain rapid and reliable communications.[Suggest a removal of] 767 fleet from [this regions'] routes until such time as they can be equipped appropriately for the mission. Otherwise; only flight plan them to stay within guaranteed VHF datalink range and spend the extra money on time/fuel for the resulting longer routings.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.