Narrative:

Upon gear extension on approach we received a # 2 antiskid fault. We abandoned our visual approach and ran the antiskid fault checklist. Found the airport to have adequate runway length and decided that a landing would be safe. [We] tried to contact dispatch multiple times over with no answer. [We] also sent an ACARS message with no answer. We declared an emergency and had crash fire rescue equipment standing by in case of any braking degradation or any other complications with the brakes/gear. We also contacted local operations to see if they could patch dispatch thru. It took approximately 10 minutes before dispatch contacted us. The approach and landing were normal with no noted abnormalities with the brake system on roll out. We taxied clear of the runway and to the gate. Crash fire rescue equipment met us at the gate and confirmed no visual abnormalities with the left main gear. We entered the item into the aircraft's logbook.the mechanical malfunction was certainly the center of the situation but it was compounded by the fact that we were unable to contact dispatch/maintenance control by radio or ACARS. It took approximately 10 minutes before dispatch contacted us. In a situation where we had declared an emergency; we certainly don't want to rush the situation; but being able to get a hold of dispatch in a timely manner is important. It is extremely frustrating to have a situation where dispatch needs to be in the loop but after everything you have tried it is seemingly impossible to actually make positive contact with dispatch.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: After declaring an emergency due to a failed antiskid system; an ATR-72 Captain is distressed by his inability to contact company Dispatch and Maintenance.

Narrative: Upon gear extension on approach we received a # 2 antiskid fault. We abandoned our visual approach and ran the antiskid fault checklist. Found the airport to have adequate runway length and decided that a landing would be safe. [We] tried to contact Dispatch multiple times over with no answer. [We] also sent an ACARS message with no answer. We declared an emergency and had CFR standing by in case of any braking degradation or any other complications with the brakes/gear. We also contacted Local Operations to see if they could patch Dispatch thru. It took approximately 10 minutes before Dispatch contacted us. The approach and landing were normal with no noted abnormalities with the brake system on roll out. We taxied clear of the runway and to the gate. CFR met us at the gate and confirmed no visual abnormalities with the left main gear. We entered the item into the aircraft's logbook.The mechanical malfunction was certainly the center of the situation but it was compounded by the fact that we were unable to contact Dispatch/Maintenance Control by radio or ACARS. It took approximately 10 minutes before Dispatch contacted us. In a situation where we had declared an emergency; we certainly don't want to rush the situation; but being able to get a hold of Dispatch in a timely manner is important. It is extremely frustrating to have a situation where Dispatch needs to be in the loop but after everything you have tried it is seemingly impossible to actually make positive contact with Dispatch.

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.