An MD11 crew dispatched to a forecast VMC european airport for which all approaches were OTS had to ...

Attributes
ACN	1191986
Time
Date	201407
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZZ.Airport
State Reference	FO
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Dawn
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-11
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 100 Flight Crew Total 8000 Flight Crew Type 500
Person 2
Function	Pilot Not Flying Captain Pilot Flying
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 117 Flight Crew Total 13500 Flight Crew Type 117
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

Narrative:

We were dispatched to our destination in spain with VMC forecast for arrival. The company provided notams that all approaches were out of service. During the cruise portion the weather went below VMC and we asked what they wanted us to do. They told us an ASR approach would be available. Upon descent the dispatcher informed us that no ASR was available. We held then diverted to a nearby military field and eventually timed out. The captain looked up the military notams [while there] and found that the ASR was NOTAM'd out from [the middle of the previous month to the end of this month]. The company dispatcher failed to give us that information in our paper work.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An MD11 crew dispatched to a forecast VMC European airport for which all approaches were OTS had to to divert to a nearby military field when low ceilings emerged and the promised radar directed approach proved to be fictitious.

Narrative: We were dispatched to our destination in Spain with VMC forecast for arrival. The company provided NOTAMs that all approaches were out of service. During the cruise portion the weather went below VMC and we asked what they wanted us to do. They told us an ASR approach would be available. Upon descent the Dispatcher informed us that no ASR was available. We held then diverted to a nearby military field and eventually timed out. The Captain looked up the military NOTAMs [while there] and found that the ASR was NOTAM'd out from [the middle of the previous month to the end of this month]. The company Dispatcher failed to give us that information in our paper work.

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 MD11 crew dispatched to a forecast VMC european airport for which all approaches were OTS had to to divert to a nearby military field when low ceilings emerged and the promised radar directed approach proved to be fictitious.