diff --git a/cron/scheduler.py b/cron/scheduler.py
index c640b2505a..864e3f6f80 100644
--- a/cron/scheduler.py
+++ b/cron/scheduler.py
@@ -2730,15 +2730,30 @@ def run_one_job(
             logger.error("Job '%s': %s", job["id"], error)
             claim = job.get("fire_claim")
             owner = str(claim.get("by") or "") if isinstance(claim, dict) else ""
+            # The dispatch failure is a job failure like any other: it must open an
+            # incident and leave through the job's failure lane (#123401). Without
+            # this the outage is silent — no cron_incidents row, no ping — while
+            # executions.db keeps piling up failed rows.
+            delivery_error = None
+            delivery_outcome = "failed"
+            try:
+                delivery_error, delivery_outcome = _deliver_crash_failure(
+                    job, error, adapters=adapters, loop=loop)
+            except Exception as notice_exc:
+                logger.error(
+                    "Dispatch-failure notice failed for job %s: %s", job["id"], notice_exc)
             try:
                 mark_job_run(
                     job["id"],
                     False,
                     error,
+                    delivery_error=delivery_error,
                     **({"expected_fire_owner": owner} if owner else {}),
                 )
             finally:
-                finish_execution(execution_id, success=False, error=error)
+                finish_execution(
+                    execution_id, success=False, error=error,
+                    delivery_outcome=delivery_outcome)
             return True
     if extra_prompt is None:
         # Gateway-forwarded manual run stamps its prompt on the job via trigger_job; the fire that
diff --git a/tests/cron/test_restart_safe_worker.py b/tests/cron/test_restart_safe_worker.py
index f800a2b39b..b931cd5c22 100644
--- a/tests/cron/test_restart_safe_worker.py
+++ b/tests/cron/test_restart_safe_worker.py
@@ -663,6 +663,53 @@ def test_shared_run_path_hands_gateway_fire_to_external_worker(monkeypatch):
     run.assert_not_called()
 
 
+def test_dispatch_failure_opens_incident_and_delivers_failure_notice(
+    execution_ledger, monkeypatch
+):
+    """A failed external-worker handoff must surface like any other job failure: one
+    incident row plus one failure-lane notice, with repeats withheld by the alerted
+    cooldown (#123401) — not a silent outage while executions.db piles up failed rows."""
+    import cron.incidents as incidents
+    import cron.scheduler as scheduler
+
+    def _handoff_boom(_job):
+        raise RuntimeError("worker exited before ownership acknowledgement")
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(scheduler, "_launch_external_cron_worker", _handoff_boom)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(scheduler, "mark_job_run", lambda *_a, **_k: True)
+    delivered = []
+    monkeypatch.setattr(
+        scheduler, "_deliver_result",
+        lambda job, content, **_kw: delivered.append(content) or None)
+
+    record = execution_ledger.create_execution("job-dispatch", source="builtin")
+    job = {"id": "job-dispatch", "execution_id": record["id"],
+           "deliver": "telegram:123"}
+    assert scheduler.run_one_job(job, adapters=None) is True
+
+    rows = incidents.list_incidents()
+    assert len(rows) == 1
+    assert rows[0]["job_id"] == "job-dispatch"
+    assert rows[0]["state"] == "alerted"
+    assert "Restart-safe cron worker dispatch failed" in rows[0]["error"]
+    assert len(delivered) == 1 and delivered[0].strip()
+    finished = execution_ledger.get_execution(record["id"])
+    assert finished["status"] == "failed"
+    assert "Restart-safe cron worker dispatch failed" in finished["error"]
+    assert finished["delivery_outcome"] == "delivered"
+
+    # The same dispatch failure again: same signature -> incident dedup, and the
+    # alerted cooldown withholds the repeat ping.
+    repeat = execution_ledger.create_execution("job-dispatch", source="builtin")
+    job2 = {"id": "job-dispatch", "execution_id": repeat["id"],
+            "deliver": "telegram:123"}
+    assert scheduler.run_one_job(job2, adapters=None) is True
+    assert len(incidents.list_incidents()) == 1
+    assert len(delivered) == 1
+    assert execution_ledger.get_execution(repeat["id"])["delivery_outcome"] == \
+        "suppressed_acked"
+
+
 def test_shutdown_does_not_interrupt_restart_safe_waiter():
     import cron.scheduler as scheduler