Narrative:

Flight sends an ACARS to dispatch; 'piece fell off on takeoff can U find out which and advise.' then two more ACARS were sent to dispatch: 'holding 1000 ft.... Fob 162K --- call me on sat pls.' the only replies that the dispatcher had to the crew were the canned ACARS replies: 'acknowledged; please standby.' here we have a flight in a possible emergency situation; holding at 10000 ft with possible parts missing and in all of this time never any pertinent replies to the aircraft. The dispatcher was also unable to call the aircraft on satcom. In all of this time; never was management or the duty officer ever advised of this situation. I could not tell if ATC or tower was ever called. Ramp finally called and advised that inboard slat piece was missing. The crew called dispatch; and amazingly; the dispatcher offered a re-analysis with an over burn accounting for missing inboard slat pieces and continue to [destination]. All of this with missing parts of the wing! And the flight was holding at 10000 ft. I advised maintenance and the duty officer and they went over to the dispatcher. The crew finally advised dispatch that they were returning to [departure airport]. There was a serious lack of competency; urgency; and operational control displayed. Dispatcher couldn't dial the aircraft on satcom in such an urgent situation. Dispatcher never advised anyone on the situation. Dispatcher relays to the crew over burns to continue to [destination] with aircraft pieces missing; possibly putting the crew and the flight in further danger.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: MD11 flight had a loss of a an inboard slat on takeoff which results in a return to departure Airport. Miscommunication issues between Dispatch and the flight crew made the situation worse.

Narrative: Flight sends an ACARS to dispatch; 'PIECE FELL OFF ON TAKEOFF CAN U FIND OUT WHICH AND ADVISE.' Then two more ACARS were sent to Dispatch: 'HOLDING 1000 FT.... FOB 162K --- CALL ME ON SAT PLS.' The only replies that the Dispatcher had to the crew were the canned ACARS replies: 'ACKNOWLEDGED; PLEASE STANDBY.' Here we have a flight in a possible emergency situation; holding at 10000 FT with possible parts missing and in all of this time never any pertinent replies to the aircraft. The Dispatcher was also unable to call the aircraft on SATCOM. In all of this time; never was Management or the Duty Officer ever advised of this situation. I could not tell if ATC or Tower was ever called. Ramp finally called and advised that inboard slat piece was missing. The crew called Dispatch; and amazingly; the Dispatcher offered a re-analysis with an over burn accounting for missing inboard slat pieces and continue to [destination]. ALL OF THIS WITH MISSING PARTS OF THE WING! And the flight was holding at 10000 FT. I advised Maintenance and the Duty Officer and they went over to the Dispatcher. The crew finally advised Dispatch that they were returning to [departure airport]. There was a serious lack of competency; urgency; and operational control displayed. Dispatcher couldn't dial the aircraft on SATCOM in such an urgent situation. Dispatcher never advised anyone on the situation. Dispatcher relays to the crew over burns to continue to [destination] with aircraft pieces missing; possibly putting the crew and the flight in further danger.

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.