<< >> NASA ASRS Report 952978, June 2011

A B777 captain reported reoccurring partial to complete loss of communications with ATC and the company while flying on extreme polar routes. The captain believes the cause of these events are predictable and flights should be planned at lower latitudes when conditions conducive to such losses exist.

Attributes
ACN	952978
Time
Date	201106
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	CZQX.ARTCC
State Reference	NF
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Other Polar
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	HF SSB
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 400 Flight Crew Total 24000 Flight Crew Type 4000
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural FAR

Narrative:

We have had a continuing communications problem on the polar routes. Flights are being dispatched with 90 minute reporting requirements across the extreme north polar routes where communication capabilities are at their weakest. On my most recent flight there was solar flare activity which exacerbated the problem. When edmonton center switched us over to gander; they told us that HF propagation was extremely weak. With satcom and sat voice lost; we were out of communication for over 90 minutes and unable to comply with reporting requirements. We exhausted all communication alternatives to no avail. These are known poor communication conditions and the company should consider alternate ways of dispatching north polar flights.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B777 Captain reported reoccurring partial to complete loss of communications with ATC and the company while flying on extreme polar routes. The Captain believes the cause of these events are predictable and flights should be planned at lower latitudes when conditions conducive to such losses exist.

Narrative: We have had a continuing communications problem on the polar routes. Flights are being dispatched with 90 minute reporting requirements across the extreme north polar routes where communication capabilities are at their weakest. On my most recent flight there was solar flare activity which exacerbated the problem. When Edmonton Center switched us over to Gander; they told us that HF propagation was extremely weak. With SATCOM and SAT voice lost; we were out of communication for over 90 minutes and unable to comply with reporting requirements. We exhausted all communication alternatives to no avail. These are known poor communication conditions and the company should consider alternate ways of dispatching north polar flights.

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.