Narrative:

This event was more than 1 month ago. The dispatch release to iad did not include an alternate. We proceeded to iad without incident until switching to washington center only to be told that they are holding into iad for a storm over the field. Because we have no alternate we immediately began considering a diversion. The captain began to communicate with dispatch via ACARS. (Communication 1) he stated that he intended to divert to ric if we held for much longer. I do not remember the dispatcher's exact response but it was clear he understood our intentions and agreed. We were then cleared into iad. (Communication 2) we notified dispatch that we were going to iad instead of ric at that point. 5 minutes later after being cleared in they notified us they have shut down iad again. (Communication 3) he again notified dispatch we were going to ric. Our understanding was that the dispatcher received all messages since he was responding. There was clearly an issue with the communication though. I received notification from the cpo [chief pilots office] that our diversion was coming up as an issue in the FAA audit. I decided a report was necessary. I am not clear on the exact issue. Based on my understanding we complied with the requirements to communicate with dispatch regarding our diversion. The dispatcher was notified and seemed to agree with our intentions. I think this is summed up as a communication error. It is clear that the release was not amended.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier Flight Crew reports diverting for fuel after weather closes their destination airport. It was determined during a paperwork audit that the release was never amended by the Dispatcher to indicate the new destination.

Narrative: This event was more than 1 month ago. The dispatch release to IAD did not include an alternate. We proceeded to IAD without incident until switching to Washington Center only to be told that they are holding into IAD for a storm over the field. Because we have no alternate we immediately began considering a diversion. The Captain began to communicate with Dispatch via ACARS. (COMMUNICATION 1) He stated that he intended to divert to RIC if we held for much longer. I do not remember the Dispatcher's exact response but it was clear he understood our intentions and agreed. We were then cleared into IAD. (COMMUNICATION 2) We notified Dispatch that we were going to IAD instead of RIC at that point. 5 Minutes later after being cleared in they notified us they have shut down IAD again. (COMMUNICATION 3) He again notified Dispatch we were going to RIC. Our understanding was that the Dispatcher received all messages since he was responding. There was clearly an issue with the communication though. I received notification from the CPO [Chief Pilots Office] that our diversion was coming up as an issue in the FAA audit. I decided a report was necessary. I am not clear on the exact issue. Based on my understanding we complied with the requirements to communicate with Dispatch regarding our diversion. The Dispatcher was notified and seemed to agree with our intentions. I think this is summed up as a communication error. It is clear that the release was not amended.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.