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Dispatcher reported using an illegal airport as an alternate. The dispatcher reported another operations center was closed for covid-19 sanitizing. This had increased the workload for the dispatcher and contributed to the event.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1754841 |
| Time | |
| Date | 202008 |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Commercial Fixed Wing |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Dispatcher |
| Qualification | Dispatch Dispatcher |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR |
Narrative:
Flight was dispatched with an illegal alternate. ZZZ airport was used; but ZZZ VOR was [out of service] at the time it was needed; therefore I should not have used it.on this day; all of the desks were heavy on flights. I made mention to our management along with another coworker we needed to add more people on [X day of the week] as there were too many flights and not enough dispatchers to handle the workload. Management is looking at the schedule and adding manning. This desk had several added flights as well [due to] center shutdown for a covid cleaning and I had flights in the air that had to be coordinated with the closing. This type of flight was not usually on this desk; and it was right in the middle of everything else I was doing. I totally overlooked the VOR being OTS.suggestions - more people on shift with reduced flight workload. In the last 7 days when I have been working; I have had more flights than I can remember and it's been different sectors. Coupled with bad weather; trying to flight follow; which is nearly impossible. The company is setting us up to fail. Any hiccup on the desk with a maintenance issue; or delay that requires attention and you are sunk on trying to get anything done on time.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Dispatcher reported using an illegal airport as an alternate. The Dispatcher reported another operations center was closed for COVID-19 sanitizing. This had increased the workload for the Dispatcher and contributed to the event.
Narrative: Flight was dispatched with an illegal alternate. ZZZ airport was used; but ZZZ VOR was [out of service] at the time it was needed; therefore I should not have used it.On this day; all of the desks were heavy on flights. I made mention to our management along with another coworker we needed to add more people on [X day of the week] as there were too many flights and not enough dispatchers to handle the workload. Management is looking at the schedule and adding manning. This desk had several added flights as well [due to] Center shutdown for a COVID cleaning and I had flights in the air that had to be coordinated with the closing. This type of flight was not usually on this desk; and it was right in the middle of everything else I was doing. I totally overlooked the VOR being OTS.Suggestions - More people on shift with reduced flight workload. In the last 7 days when I have been working; I have had more flights than I can remember and it's been different sectors. Coupled with bad weather; trying to flight follow; which is nearly impossible. The company is setting us up to fail. Any hiccup on the desk with a maintenance issue; or delay that requires attention and you are sunk on trying to get anything done on time.
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.