An A320 flight crew lost contact with center for an extended period when ATC failed to hand them off...

Attributes
ACN	1178511
Time
Date	201406
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZFW.ARTCC
State Reference	TX
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	A320
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Air/Ground Communication
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	ATC Issue All Types Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

I was the non-flying pilot [on a westbound transcontinental] trip. We departed and proceeded on a southerly routing due to an extensive line of weather. Due to the extreme static on guard frequency associated with the weather; we turned guard frequency down. We proceeded on our cleared routing of hob then ilc after already checking on with fort worth center. The frequency was busy with weather deviations. We were contacted by an air carrier flight giving us an abq center frequency to contact them on. Unbeknownst to us; our ACARS was out of service with no associated ECAM advisory. We checked in then with abq center and were given two [phone] numbers with which to contact ftw and abq centers. After contacting them after landing; ftw center apologized profusely for the lack of service we received and that they were busy with weather and training. [They advised] we were never handed off to abq center. Use due diligence in making sure two way communications are established at all times.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An A320 flight crew lost contact with Center for an extended period when ATC failed to hand them off to the next sector. Another flight crew forwarded an appropriate frequency to them. A malfunctioning ACARS was a contributing factor.

Narrative: I was the non-flying pilot [on a westbound transcontinental] trip. We departed and proceeded on a southerly routing due to an extensive line of weather. Due to the extreme static on guard frequency associated with the weather; we turned guard frequency down. We proceeded on our cleared routing of HOB then ILC after already checking on with Fort Worth Center. The frequency was busy with weather deviations. We were contacted by an air carrier flight giving us an ABQ Center frequency to contact them on. Unbeknownst to us; our ACARS was out of service with no associated ECAM advisory. We checked in then with ABQ Center and were given two [phone] numbers with which to contact FTW and ABQ centers. After contacting them after landing; FTW Center apologized profusely for the lack of service we received and that they were busy with weather and training. [They advised] We were never handed off to ABQ Center. Use due diligence in making sure two way communications are established at all times.

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.

An A320 flight crew lost contact with center for an extended period when ATC failed to hand them off to the next sector. Another flight crew forwarded an appropriate frequency to them. A malfunctioning ACARS was a contributing factor.