A Pilot’s Flight Control Officer…

I used to be the guy you loved to hate when traveling. There were times you have been at the airport waiting to get on the plane and fly to your business meeting or back home after a long exhausting trip only to suddenly see those little letters on the display switch from “on-time” to “delayed” or “canceled”. Frustrating, yeah? Back before the 9/11 early retirement program I used to work a little known job in the aviation industry called a Flight Control Officer, more commonly known as an Aircraft Dispatcher.

What exactly is an Aircraft Dispatcher (AD)? The Aircraft Dispatcher Federation probably sums it up the best with the following points:

* The Aircraft Dispatcher is a licensed airman certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration.

* He/She has joint responsibility with the captain for the safety and operational control of flights under his/her guidance.

* He/She authorizes, regulates and controls commercial airline flights according to government and company regulations to expedite and ensure safety of flight.

* He/She is also responsible for economics, passenger service and operational control of day to day flight operations.
* He/She analyzes and evaluates meteorological information to determine potential hazards to safety of flight and to select the most desirable and economic route of flight.

* He/She computes the amount of fuel required for the safe completion of flight according to type of aircraft, distance of flight, maintenance limitations, weather conditions and minimum fuel requirements prescribed by federal aviation regulations.

* He/She prepares flight plans containing information such as maximum allowable takeoff and landing weights, weather reports, field conditions, NOTAMS and many other informational components required for the safe completion of flight.

* He/She prepares and signs the dispatch release which is the legal document providing authorization for a flight to depart.

* He/She delays or cancels flights if unsafe conditions threaten the safety of his/her aircraft or passengers.

* He/She monitors weather conditions, aircraft position reports, and aeronautical navigation charts to evaluate the progress of flight.

* He/She updates the pilot in command of significant changes to weather or flight plan and recommends flight plan alternates, such as changing course, altitude and, if required, enroute landings in the interest of safety and economy.

* He/She originates and disseminates flight information to others in his/her company including stations and reservations. This is the source of information provided to the traveling public.

* He/She has undergone extensive training to have earned the coveted Aircraft Dispatcher’s certificate having taken and passed both an extensive oral examination and the comprehensive Dispatch ADX test, administered by the Federal Aviation Administration. These tests are equivalent to the same Air Transport Pilot (ATP) written and oral examinations that an airline captain must successfully complete.

* He/She participates in frequent and detailed recurrent training courses covering aircraft systems, company operations policy, meteorology and Federal Air Regulations as required by the FAA.

Those get you off on the right track for understanding the responsibilities, but I’ll try to break it down into simpler chunks. The simplest way to think of an Aircraft Dispatcher is to think of mission control for NASA. They have a similar function but do it on an airline level. In the late 30’s an aviation disaster occurred when two planes collided in mid-air. Congress recognized that the country’s aviation industry was gearing up and was going to require oversight and plenty of safety. It was determined that airlines should have operational control over their flight operations and a position for a ground-based airman was developed to compliment the pilot’s position. The concept and mindset was and still is “two heads are better than one”. Thus the Aircraft Dispatcher was created.

The Aircraft Dispatcher’s Playground. Flying regulations are divided into sections called Parts. Each part has a numerical value that regulates certain areas of aviation. Part 91 is for general aviation. Part 135 is for freight and charter operations. When you fly on airlines such as American, Delta or United you are flying under Part 121. Although the Aircraft Dispatcher can work in any of these Parts, they were specifically created for Part 121. Each airline, being in charge of their own flight operations, maintains a “mission control” center usually called a Systems Operations Control Center (SOCC).  As the airlines grew, other names were applied to the AD. The companies I worked for tended to call us Flight Control Officers (perhaps rising from working in a control center). I’ve also heard Flight Superintendent used as well. But on the FAA Airman license it always reads “Aircraft Dispatcher”. We usually just called ourselves “sratchers” because we would “scratch” out flight plans, and “scratch” out changes on the fly when an issue would come up.

A control station for an AD usually consists of several computers and monitors, radios to communicate to ground crews, maintenance and aircraft and phones. Some groups have camera feeds to see where the birds are currently sitting (jetway, taxiway etc). I was always with airlines that were large enough to pay for services that piggie backed radar with ATC (Air Traffic Control) so we could watch our flights, observe traffic patterns, watch for weather movement and obtain information about heading, flight level and current speed. The radar is invaluable as it allows the AD to “read” ahead of what ATC is doing with his/her birds and make changes accordingly. Here are a few pictures of the playground:

The Skinny On The Scratcher. A pilot does a great job of flying the plane from point A to point B. The dispatcher is concerned with point A to B to C to D back to A and out to B again. It’s called operational control. Any issue such as crew qualifications (there are reams of regulations on that), maintenance issues on the aircraft (and you just thought every plane that flew was in perfect operating condition) and restrictions to flight, weather problems, incidents, emergencies, weight planning and any other concern that impacts the safety of the flight is the dispatcher’s issue.  The Captain and the Aircraft Dispatcher are concerned with your safety. It is common for the pilots to talk with their dispatchers during pre flight, during the flight and post flight. There is a regulation in Part 121 that enforces that a pilot in command (the Captain) and the AD must agree at all times or it is an automatic emergency and ATC must be informed. I cannot speak to all airlines as they do have operational control and can design their own operations plans, but only the dispatcher can cancel a flight. Either the Captain or the AD can delay a flight due to concerns, but the responsiblity to cancel a flight lies with the dispatcher. So I was the guy you hated when you saw the boards update with delayed or canceled. However, I assure you, 99.9% of the time the reason it is cancelled is due to safety concerns. Another unique aspect of the job is the plane cannot leave the ground without the “sratcher’s” signature on the flight release. If you don’t sign it the flight goes nowhere, period. What most folks don’t realize is that if you are a licensed airman and something happens on your watch (pilot or dispatcher) the FAA doesn’t come down and just hammer the airline. They will come and hammer you personally. You are charged with the safety of the individuals that step on your aircraft.

I enjoyed the job thoroughly. It can be boring at times when everything is running “smoothly” and can appear to be routine, however, there are times when you must seriously multi-task and make rapid fire decisions that impacts not just the safety of the flight, but how everyone’s day will run. If I were to delay a flight due to a concern that now just impacted the rest of the schedule and I had to then work with other dispatchers, the pilots and ATC to bring the system back up to speed. I will admit you could tell where weather was moving to based on how busy certain desks got busy (if duties were segregated by regions of the US).

Oh yeah…just as a side bar many people still confuse an Air Traffic Controller with a Flight Control Officer. ATC is the big traffic cop in the sky and on the ground. They have authority to move flights around, make a plane land for national security reasons (think 9/11) but they are concerned with the highways of the skies and the efficient traffic flow thereof. A Flight Control Officer is concerned with everything else. They are mission control for the airline.

Maybe this post has gotten a bit long so I’ll clean it up. Need to maintain operation control of my blog here. There is so much more to an Aircraft Dispatcher’s responsiblities that I think I’ll write a few more posts on it. Just remember there are dedicated professionals who are keeping watch over you, the pilots, the birds and your safety when you start rolling across the taxiway. That person has eyes on during the entire flight and if not already taking action is but a radio call away.

~Kryptikos

Pslam 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”