Narrative:

When I took over the flight it was heading toward jfk. The previous dispatcher said the passenger O2 mask had dropped on the captain's side of the aircraft. He had also said the captain had evaluated the situation and was comfortable diverting to jfk. The previous dispatcher had also sent an ACARS message to the flight asking if they would be comfortable flying to another airport; because we had an aircraft and crew there to continue the flight. Approximately 30 to 45 minutes later I called the flight on satcom because the flight did not answer ACARS messages about continuing to this airport. I thought talking to the crew would get me a better understating of any concerns they had. Also; I was getting pressure from different departments about where the flight was going. I talked to the captain about continuing to this airport. The captain biggest concern was the passengers' emotional state. I stressed with the captain that if at any time he felt it would be best to divert to any appropriate airport along the route of flight I would be good with that. The captain did not express any great concern about the mechanical condition of the aircraft. The captain agreed with continuing the flight to this airport. I told the captain when we got close to jfk to reevaluate the situation and if stopping at jfk seemed better in his point of view we would divert to jfk. Later in the flight the flight crew sent an ACARS asking if we had any B767 aircraft in jfk. I inquired with the sector manager and was told we had no crews available in jfk for the B767. I sent an ACARS back to the crew saying we had no crews available in jfk; but if he felt it was better to stop in jfk we would handle the situation. Later I saw some ACARS between the aircraft and maintenance control about some circuit breakers that had popped for one of the lavatories. I called maintenance control and asked them if they still thought it was best to continue the aircraft to the second choice and was told yes. The crew also informed maintenance control that only two rows of passenger O2 had been activated. The aircraft was not full; so there was plenty of O2 for all of the passengers. I did not hear the original conversation between the releasing dispatcher; crew; and maintenance. The aircraft was on the way back before I took the flight. I do not think I had a clear understanding of the possible mechanical problems of the aircraft. The big event seemed to be the O2 masks dropping on the captain's side of the aircraft. The first indication I had there was more going on was the ACARS traffic between the crew and maintenance control about the popped circuit breakers. If the original dispatcher had more knowledge; perhaps a better turn over would have given me a clearer understanding of the situation.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Dispatcher took over a B767 flight that was in the middle of a diversion; from a previous Dispatcher. He reported the facts he had about the flight were not complete.

Narrative: When I took over the flight it was heading toward JFK. The previous Dispatcher said the passenger O2 mask had dropped on the Captain's side of the aircraft. He had also said the Captain had evaluated the situation and was comfortable diverting to JFK. The previous Dispatcher had also sent an ACARS message to the flight asking if they would be comfortable flying to another airport; because we had an aircraft and crew there to continue the flight. Approximately 30 to 45 minutes later I called the flight on SATCOM because the flight did not answer ACARS messages about continuing to this airport. I thought talking to the crew would get me a better understating of any concerns they had. Also; I was getting pressure from different departments about where the flight was going. I talked to the Captain about continuing to this airport. The Captain biggest concern was the passengers' emotional state. I stressed with the Captain that if at any time he felt it would be best to divert to any appropriate airport along the route of flight I would be good with that. The Captain did not express any great concern about the mechanical condition of the aircraft. The Captain agreed with continuing the flight to this airport. I told the Captain when we got close to JFK to reevaluate the situation and if stopping at JFK seemed better in his point of view we would divert to JFK. Later in the flight the Flight Crew sent an ACARS asking if we had any B767 aircraft in JFK. I inquired with the Sector Manager and was told we had no crews available in JFK for the B767. I sent an ACARS back to the crew saying we had no crews available in JFK; but if he felt it was better to stop in JFK we would handle the situation. Later I saw some ACARS between the aircraft and Maintenance Control about some circuit breakers that had popped for one of the lavatories. I called Maintenance Control and asked them if they still thought it was best to continue the aircraft to the second choice and was told yes. The crew also informed Maintenance Control that only two rows of passenger O2 had been activated. The aircraft was not full; so there was plenty of O2 for all of the passengers. I did not hear the original conversation between the releasing Dispatcher; crew; and maintenance. The aircraft was on the way back before I took the flight. I do not think I had a clear understanding of the possible mechanical problems of the aircraft. The big event seemed to be the O2 masks dropping on the Captain's side of the aircraft. The first indication I had there was more going on was the ACARS traffic between the crew and Maintenance Control about the popped circuit breakers. If the original Dispatcher had more knowledge; perhaps a better turn over would have given me a clearer understanding of the situation.

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.