A Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) for aircraft dispatch is a proactive, non‑punitive safety program where trained observers quietly watch dispatchers during normal, everyday operations to understand:
How dispatchers really work
What threats they face
What errors occur
How those errors are caught, corrected, or allowed to drift
How well operational control is being exercised
Think of it as a human‑factors X‑ray of your Operations Control Center (OCC).
It’s not an inspection.
It’s not a compliance audit.
It’s not about catching mistakes.
It’s about discovering how work is actually done, not how the manual says it should be done. Traditional LOSA programs were built for pilots. But dispatchers:
Make safety‑critical decisions
Share operational control with the PIC (Part 121)
Manage multiple flights simultaneously
Operate under intense time pressure
Rely heavily on automation
Are the first line of defense against weather, NOTAM, and fuel‑planning errors
A dispatch LOSA captures the real‑world behaviors behind those responsibilities. A dispatch LOSA helps an airline:
Identify risks before they cause incidents
Improve dispatcher CRM and human‑factors training
Reduce operational errors (fuel, alternates, diversions)
Strengthen the Safety Management System (SMS)
Provide objective evidence for FAA oversight
Understand how operational control is actually exercised
Interested in learning more about implementing LOSA at your OCC facility? Contact us!