Narrative:

The crj-700 flight crew had initially contacted me and asked to speak with maintenance but; the call was dropped during the transfer. I then sent an ACARS message to the crew to try contacting me again via phone line. This was not done. An ACARS was then sent to me stating 'ifsd'. At that point the computer reflected a change in their destination. I sent an amended release to the crew based on this. Shortly after this the crew sent an ACARS advising they were diverting. I sent a second amended release and followed up with the weather and notams. Once on the ground; the captain called and briefed me on the situation. He stated that the engine oil quantity went below 15% and that they were required to land at the nearest suitable airport. We briefly went over what the aom had advised him to do in-flight and determined that we had followed the proper steps. I then transferred him to maintenance control. The next day I was advised by the [dispatch] supervisor that the crew had [performed] an engine shutdown in-flight. We then figured out that his ACARS message acronym 'ifsd' indeed meant 'in-flight shut down'.while acronyms are extremely useful in this industry; if we are all not on the same page of what each means there can be disconnects. Crews should clearly specify what their intentions are during an emergency situation and avoid using acronyms that may cause confusion.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier Dispatcher was surprised when a CRJ-700 flight crew diverted to a nearby airport after sending an ACARS message advising only 'IFSD.'

Narrative: The CRJ-700 flight crew had initially contacted me and asked to speak with Maintenance but; the call was dropped during the transfer. I then sent an ACARS message to the crew to try contacting me again via phone line. This was not done. An ACARS was then sent to me stating 'IFSD'. At that point the computer reflected a change in their destination. I sent an amended release to the crew based on this. Shortly after this the crew sent an ACARS advising they were diverting. I sent a second amended release and followed up with the weather and NOTAMs. Once on the ground; the Captain called and briefed me on the situation. He stated that the engine oil quantity went below 15% and that they were required to land at the nearest suitable airport. We briefly went over what the AOM had advised him to do in-flight and determined that we had followed the proper steps. I then transferred him to Maintenance Control. The next day I was advised by the [Dispatch] Supervisor that the crew had [performed] an engine shutdown in-flight. We then figured out that his ACARS message acronym 'IFSD' indeed meant 'In-Flight Shut Down'.While acronyms are extremely useful in this industry; if we are all not on the same page of what each means there can be disconnects. Crews should clearly specify what their intentions are during an emergency situation and avoid using acronyms that may cause confusion.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 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.