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An A320 captain refused a flight release from his dispatcher that routed them through an area of forecast and reported severe turbulence. The dispatcher had advocated the original route because it was shorter and burned less fuel.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 979566 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201111 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | SFO.Airport |
| State Reference | CA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A321 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 121 |
| Flight Phase | Parked |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Captain |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
Narrative:
My flight was released through a large area of forecast and reported severe turbulence.I contacted the dispatcher and found he was aware of the area and [had received] reports by aircraft experiencing severe turbulence on the route. When I questioned if this route was legal due to the turbulence his response was yes. I declined the release and asked for routing north or south of the area. The dispatcher said it would add 30 minutes to the flight and burn additional fuel. I responded that I didn't care and would not dispatch on that route. We left the gate 30 minutes late after receiving a new release.I feel this dispatcher ignored better routing for turbulence avoidance under pressure from company managers to release flights based solely on minimum flight time and fuel burn.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An A320 Captain refused a flight Release from his Dispatcher that routed them through an area of forecast and reported severe turbulence. The Dispatcher had advocated the original route because it was shorter and burned less fuel.
Narrative: My Flight was released through a large area of forecast and reported severe turbulence.I contacted the Dispatcher and found he was aware of the area and [had received] reports by aircraft experiencing severe turbulence on the route. When I questioned if this route was legal due to the turbulence his response was yes. I declined the release and asked for routing North or South of the area. The Dispatcher said it would add 30 minutes to the flight and burn additional fuel. I responded that I didn't care and would not dispatch on that route. We left the gate 30 minutes late after receiving a new release.I feel this Dispatcher ignored better routing for turbulence avoidance under pressure from company managers to release flights based solely on minimum flight time and fuel burn.
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.