Commercial Fixed Wing
Dispatch Dispatcher
Communication Breakdown; Human-Machine Interface; Workload
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
General None Reported / Taken
Procedure
The computer autocalculated routes for a flight to SFO. I created release 1 for the flight one and a half hours later with the understanding that the computer autocalculates 4 hours prior to scheduled departure time. The flight was scheduled to depart an hour and a half later. The first release included an optimized route around a meso-scale weather system in the Midwest Region and had SJC as an alternate. The Captain called to increase fuel; so release 2 was generated for the fuel request. Afterwards; I noticed the alternate was removed; so a third release was submitted with fuel and SJC added to once again. The Captain then called back to report the route on the last two releases did not match the first or flight plan filed with ATC. I generated release 4 to match the original route on the ATC strip; fuel; and alternate I believe the computer autocalculated the release twice; thus changing my optimized route and removing my alternate. Had the Captain not caught the discrepancy; the route would have been dangerous and the release would have been illegal.
The Dispatcher's first three releases were in error due to automatic modification made by the computerized dispatch system.