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- 121 SCHEUDLED FLIGHT. -ENROUTE FROM "A" TO "B" DIVETED TO "C" DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBOLEM. -YOU HAVE NO INFO RECEIVED ABOUT THIS INCIDENT. -AFTER LANDING SAFELY IN "C" PIC CALLED YOU ADVISING THAT THEY DECLARED EMERGENCY AND DIVERTED TO "C" DUE TO TECH PROBLEM (PORESSURIZATION), BUT LANDED SAFELY - what the appropriate action do you think is (if you were the Flight Dispatcher that day):
1.Notify concerned people as a normal disruption since emergency was already terminated safely to avoid getting the subject bigger noise?
2.Apply ERP notification immediately and inform each one in same ERP contact list that Emergency was terminated and flight has landed safely?
3.Wait for Maintenance feedback about Aircraft status then go for recovery plan and notification.
4.None of the above; please specify appropriate action.
Yep, I'm with 42psi given the information you have in the question, I'd go for answer 2.
For a start you have had a emergency diversion and a company response is required. Your managers and directors must know what has happened in order to formulate a press statement and perhaps decide to initiate a company emergency response; further, just because the airplane has landed safely you don't know, yet, if there was any trauma for the passengers which might require a company response and have the potential to expose the business to litagation. In this day and age you can expect a video on You Tube within hours of the event in flight.
Often information in the early stages of an emergency (even if the airplane has landed) is incomplete, even if you have spoken with the Captain who has called you as soon he resonably could have which of course his is required to do, he may or may not have had time to debrief the cabin crew and evaluate the passengers condition.
Flight ops and engineering may wish to download QAR and FDR/CVR data, so all in all the flight dispatcher/FOO on duty has a responsibility to initiate company alerting, in my opinion anyway. A report to the NTSB/FAA will be required and a timely call to your POI.
Just because the airplane has landed safety, remember that your problems may not be over- in fact they may just be starting. Your (the airline's) concern now is to focus on your passengers & crew welfare, the press/media and disruption recovery.
Last edited by no sig : 7th September 2008 at 13:53.
I vote for 2 as well, for pretty much the reasons stated by the others. Make all the notifications and you'll have the right people online with you to make the calls that need to be made - mx to decide if the aircraft can be flown, crew schedulers for legalities and fresh crew if needed, ops controllers or what ever your company calls them to handle pax, etc. More or less the first step of the recovery.
Of the options, number 2. If contacted prior to landing, I'd notify m immediate supervisor, who is then tasked to make management notifications. Since the emergency has been declared, there will be required notification to the FAA and possibly the NTSB, which usually comes through the DO or designee per the ERP. As dispatcher at a cargo airline, we'll call ahead (depending on how far from the airport they are) to the tower, and send Hazmat info to CFR on field. If it's an airport we have ops, we notify the local station management. If not, the operations people begin lining up ground handling and Maintenance Control starts looking for a local mechanic.
Once safely on the ground, we'll get a quick rundown form the crew on what happened. The necessary official reports will be made by management after the dust settles. The aircraft will need to be gone over by MX in any case. Recovery operations will commence based on the location and severity of the mechanical. In best cases, its a on-line station and we can get another plane there quickly if required. If not, meal and/or hotel vouchers can be issued until the airline is able to move them.
IN the case you presented, a loss of pressurization will not necessarily require an immediately get it on the ground situation, and the crew should have contact dispatch once stabilized at an appropriate altitude. There a joint decision can be made as to the best airport to divert to. For instance if its 15 minutes to Dayton (where you have limited or no service) or 20 minutes to Cincinnati (where you have a hub operation), I'd think about CVG. On the other hand, if the emergency involves smoke, loss of control, or something extremely serious , then the closest strip of concrete you can safely stop the plane on is the call.
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