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A B737-800 captain reports poor to non-existent HF communications in central canadian airspace enroute to anc.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 840448 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200906 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0001-0600 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | CZEG.ARTCC |
| State Reference | AB |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | B737-800 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | HF SSB |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Not Flying Captain |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural FAR Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy |
Narrative:
We were assigned aircraft to anc; and have in the past made HF calls to the sfo and commercial radio relay operators and have at best had unreliable results. I did relay this last week to flight operations. Today I checked the two primary frequencies 11.3xx and 6.6xx and got no answer. I got contact at yep; very weak and very hard to read; but did get a SELCAL check. The next 2 waypoints I was unable to establish contact. No contact at igsel or gabul. At kitar I did get them loud and clear; however I am now back in VHF coverage as well because this is approaching the coast. So I assume for a better part of my trip over the mountains I was not in communications with the commercial radio relay operators.we should not schedule airplanes with no ACARS to anc as HF coverage is not rapid and reliable.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A B737-800 Captain reports poor to non-existent HF communications in central Canadian airspace enroute to ANC.
Narrative: We were assigned aircraft to ANC; and have in the past made HF calls to the SFO and commercial radio relay operators and have at best had unreliable results. I did relay this last week to Flight Operations. Today I checked the two primary frequencies 11.3xx and 6.6xx and got no answer. I got contact at YEP; very weak and very hard to read; but did get a SELCAL check. The next 2 waypoints I was unable to establish contact. No contact at IGSEL or GABUL. At KITAR I did get them loud and clear; however I am now back in VHF coverage as well because this is approaching the coast. So I assume for a better part of my trip over the mountains I was not in communications with the commercial radio relay operators.We should not schedule airplanes with no ACARS to ANC as HF coverage is not rapid and reliable.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.