EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Dispatch Dispatcher
Communication Breakdown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Declared Emergency
Human Factors; Aircraft
Approximately 17 minutes after departure; Station Operations called the Equipment Coordinator to inform him that the Captain had declared an emergency for hydraulics and was airborne interrupting. Equipment Coordinator then called the Supervisor and then the Dispatcher [me] to inform them of the problem. Dispatcher immediately checked the flight following system and saw the aircraft was on short final. He diverted the flight in the computer system and then noticed from the ACARS history that there were no communications from the pilot to dispatch and that the aircraft had already landed; 4 minutes before Dispatch was ever notified by the Equipment Coordinator. It was too late to do an AMD RLS. It was too late to coordinate emergency response. Record Histories were accomplished. Landing and gate times were chased down. Station Operations was contacted to ensure the passengers and aircraft maintenance was coordinated as the aircraft was disabled on the runway. The AMD RLS was accomplished post flight to show the diversion. The Captain of this flight; it was later learned; had experienced a total loss of aircraft hydraulics. He declared an inflight emergency and diverted back and landed 13 minutes after departure. By not contacting Dispatch; the Dispatcher assumed all was normal and he continued to flight follow this flight and his other flights as normal. Once he was notified of the emergency turnback; he made that flight his number one priority; but his hands were tied on following company policies and procedures when it was discovered that the aircraft had already landed 4 minutes before he even found out there was a problem. This had the effect of a loss of operational control when the Captain declared an emergency and proceeded under the Captain's emergency authority. Recommend some kind of automated ACARS or something that the Captain can use to even give a quick communication to the dispatcher that he is diverting back to departure airport or alternate or something. It is unreasonable to expect Dispatch to amend the release for diversion/send weather/NOTAMs/etc. Coordinate emergency responses and/or maintenance. Especially when the aircraft is already full stopped on the runway before the dispatcher is ever notified. I am really at a loss on how to handle this in the post flight arena. By doing so fully acknowledges the fact that the dispatcher has lost operational control; because he expects the aircraft is airborne and interrupting back into the departure station; when in actuality; the aircraft is already on the ground.
EMB-145 Dispatcher laments being informed after the fact; that one of his flights has declared an emergency for hydraulic failure and returned to the departure airport.