Lost comms and quadrantal rule
Hi guys,
Here's a scenario that caught me off guard the other day:
I was flying southbound accross Southeast Asia. We entered Manila FIR and were instructed to contact them on HF. As it happens, we were not able raise the ATC on any of the frequencies (we also tried VHF and relay, to no avail). So far, so good, happens all the time on HF...
However, as we flew deeper into the FIR, we approached a waypoint where we'd change course from westerly to easterly and, as per the flight plan, were supposed to change altitude from even to odd FL. However, we still had no contact with ATC. In this case, should we:
a) keep last cleared level against the quadrantal rule
b) change the FL immediately
c) initiate the lost comms procedure, i.e. keep the previous FL for 20 minutes since FIR entry (last failed reporting point), then change to odd level as per the FPL...
I was leaning towards c), but wasn't sure. Fortunately we were finally able to establish contact on VHF before reaching the point and the problem sorted itself out. I would, however, appreciate any input on the proper way of sorting this.
Also, as a follow-up question. Since HF is notoriously unreliable, how do you deal with no contact? Under what circumstances would you initiate a full-blown lost comm procedure?
Cheers