Narrative:

Military operations to saudi arabia continue to be unpredictable. The lack of operational control is mind-boggling, to say the least. 1/sun/92, mac XXXX was scheduled to depart dhahran, saudi arabia at XA45Z after 2 hours on the ground to unload payload. At XC00Z I still had not heard from the flight in question. I first tried to get in contact with the flight via HF radio. After several attempts in this manner with still no contact, at XD00Z I contacted the military flight following office. They advised me that this flight had departed on schedule at XA45Z. After yet another hour with no contact, I felt more action was necessary. We were given no information on search and rescue or ATC contacts on the proposed route of flight, so I began gathering this information from our limited resources. In the middle of this process, I received a call from the captain on the ground at dhahran at around XE30Z. Needless to say, I was relieved to hear from him, but I was irritated at the lack of operational control with this flight. There needs to be better communication in all areas of the company. When this flight was delayed as long as it was, the flight crew should have informed flight dispatch. It would also be nice to have a ground contact at these stations to be able to verify the status of a particular flight.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DISPATCH COMPLAINT ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO GET AN OFF MESSAGE FROM AN ACFT AT A FOREIGN ARPT IN THE WAR ZONE.

Narrative: MIL OPS TO SAUDI ARABIA CONTINUE TO BE UNPREDICTABLE. THE LACK OF OPERATIONAL CTL IS MIND-BOGGLING, TO SAY THE LEAST. 1/SUN/92, MAC XXXX WAS SCHEDULED TO DEPART DHAHRAN, SAUDI ARABIA AT XA45Z AFTER 2 HRS ON THE GND TO UNLOAD PAYLOAD. AT XC00Z I STILL HAD NOT HEARD FROM THE FLT IN QUESTION. I FIRST TRIED TO GET IN CONTACT WITH THE FLT VIA HF RADIO. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS IN THIS MANNER WITH STILL NO CONTACT, AT XD00Z I CONTACTED THE MIL FLT FOLLOWING OFFICE. THEY ADVISED ME THAT THIS FLT HAD DEPARTED ON SCHEDULE AT XA45Z. AFTER YET ANOTHER HR WITH NO CONTACT, I FELT MORE ACTION WAS NECESSARY. WE WERE GIVEN NO INFORMATION ON SEARCH AND RESCUE OR ATC CONTACTS ON THE PROPOSED RTE OF FLT, SO I BEGAN GATHERING THIS INFO FROM OUR LIMITED RESOURCES. IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PROCESS, I RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE CAPT ON THE GND AT DHAHRAN AT AROUND XE30Z. NEEDLESS TO SAY, I WAS RELIEVED TO HEAR FROM HIM, BUT I WAS IRRITATED AT THE LACK OF OPERATIONAL CTL WITH THIS FLT. THERE NEEDS TO BE BETTER COM IN ALL AREAS OF THE COMPANY. WHEN THIS FLT WAS DELAYED AS LONG AS IT WAS, THE FLT CREW SHOULD HAVE INFORMED FLT DISPATCH. IT WOULD ALSO BE NICE TO HAVE A GND CONTACT AT THESE STATIONS TO BE ABLE TO VERIFY THE STATUS OF A PARTICULAR FLT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.