Narrative:

The aircraft inbound to dfw for air carrier flight had a placard on the WX radar. The route of flight was dfw-okc. Okc flight read 1717Z sct 1814g22 occasional C35 broken slight chance C15 broken 80 ovc 3RW/trw G35 till xxxxz. I contacted operator which coordinates maintenance for air carrier and told them the radar would have to be fixed prior to departure. The technical representative looked at the write up and told me it should not be a problem and he would coordinate with dfw maintenance to insure it was cleared. I told the captain by way of the remarks section of the dispatch release that 'dfw maintenance will clear placard on WX radar prior to departure'. After the flight blocked out I called maintenance to see if the placard had been cleared. No one knew who had the paperwork. By the time flight was airborne and I found out dfw maintenance did not even attempt to clear the radar. In my conversation with the dfw maintenance manager he stated 'we looked at the WX and it did not look too bad'. I told him he wasn't qualified to make that determination. I allowed the flight to continue because my WX radar did not show any thunderstorm buildups. I knew this was going to present a problem on the return leg because with a moisture flow from the south dfw was forecast at XA00Z to have 45 scattered thunderstorm in the vicinity. I spoke with the captain at okc to ask if he read my release remarks and he said yes. I asked him if we would have had a better operation if he had told me prior to departure that the radar was not working and after the 1 plus 30 min ground time that the next captain may have a problem returning to dfw. His response was 'oh'. The problem is dfw maintenance has too great a time lag in determining where paperwork is. The next time I am going to hold/delay the flight until I receive the answers I'm looking for.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DISPATCHER DISCOVERS ACR DEPARTED WITH INOP WX RADAR HE HAD ORDERED REPAIRED.

Narrative: THE ACFT INBOUND TO DFW FOR ACR FLT HAD A PLACARD ON THE WX RADAR. THE RTE OF FLT WAS DFW-OKC. OKC FLT READ 1717Z SCT 1814G22 OCCASIONAL C35 BROKEN SLIGHT CHANCE C15 BROKEN 80 OVC 3RW/TRW G35 TILL XXXXZ. I CONTACTED OPERATOR WHICH COORDINATES MAINT FOR ACR AND TOLD THEM THE RADAR WOULD HAVE TO BE FIXED PRIOR TO DEP. THE TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE LOOKED AT THE WRITE UP AND TOLD ME IT SHOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM AND HE WOULD COORDINATE WITH DFW MAINT TO INSURE IT WAS CLRED. I TOLD THE CAPT BY WAY OF THE REMARKS SECTION OF THE DISPATCH RELEASE THAT 'DFW MAINT WILL CLR PLACARD ON WX RADAR PRIOR TO DEP'. AFTER THE FLT BLOCKED OUT I CALLED MAINT TO SEE IF THE PLACARD HAD BEEN CLRED. NO ONE KNEW WHO HAD THE PAPERWORK. BY THE TIME FLT WAS AIRBORNE AND I FOUND OUT DFW MAINT DID NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO CLR THE RADAR. IN MY CONVERSATION WITH THE DFW MAINT MGR HE STATED 'WE LOOKED AT THE WX AND IT DID NOT LOOK TOO BAD'. I TOLD HIM HE WASN'T QUALIFIED TO MAKE THAT DETERMINATION. I ALLOWED THE FLT TO CONTINUE BECAUSE MY WX RADAR DID NOT SHOW ANY TSTM BUILDUPS. I KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO PRESENT A PROBLEM ON THE RETURN LEG BECAUSE WITH A MOISTURE FLOW FROM THE S DFW WAS FORECAST AT XA00Z TO HAVE 45 SCATTERED TSTM IN THE VICINITY. I SPOKE WITH THE CAPT AT OKC TO ASK IF HE READ MY RELEASE REMARKS AND HE SAID YES. I ASKED HIM IF WE WOULD HAVE HAD A BETTER OP IF HE HAD TOLD ME PRIOR TO DEP THAT THE RADAR WAS NOT WORKING AND AFTER THE 1 PLUS 30 MIN GND TIME THAT THE NEXT CAPT MAY HAVE A PROBLEM RETURNING TO DFW. HIS RESPONSE WAS 'OH'. THE PROBLEM IS DFW MAINT HAS TOO GREAT A TIME LAG IN DETERMINING WHERE PAPERWORK IS. THE NEXT TIME I AM GOING TO HOLD/DELAY THE FLT UNTIL I RECEIVE THE ANSWERS I'M LOOKING FOR.

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.